WHO warns of ‘alarming’ rise in measles cases in Europe

The European Region of the World Health Organization (WHO) is affected by ‘Alarming’ rise in measles cases in recent months: more than 30,000 in 40 of 53 European countries -which includes Russia and several former Soviet republics- from January to October last yearwhat does it mean growth more than 30% compared to 2022. During this period there was 20,918 hospitalizations for measles and five deaths in two countries.

For this reason, the WHO has warned that this is an urgent measure. jumpstart immunization to stop infections. “Urgent vaccination is needed to curb transmission and prevent further infections. It is vital that all countries are prepared to quickly identify measles outbreaks that could threaten progress towards eliminating the disease,” said WHO/Europe Director Hans Kluge.

The resurgence of measles incidence is mainly due to drop in vaccination coverage between 2020 and 2022 due to the coronavirus pandemic: From 96% for the first dose in 2019, it rose to 93% three years later; and with the second, this figure fell from 92% in 2019 to 91% in 2022. WHO estimates that between 2020 and 2022, more than 1.8 children in the region were not vaccinated against measles.

The lifting of pandemic-related public health and travel restrictions has led to also increased the risk of cross-border contamination.Many countries where measles has been declared eradicated now have cases of the disease and are at risk of outbreaks due to imported virus.

IN Several countries in the region have begun to intensify systematic immunization activities and recovery campaigns.. In this regard, WHO Europe said that, in collaboration with its partners, it is supporting countries with large outbreaks to conduct case investigations, identify and vaccinate susceptible contacts, implement infection control while raising public awareness and addressing public concerns, and improve disease surveillance. , and planning and implementing immunization in response to an outbreak.

Let’s remember that just a few days ago, Romania declared a national epidemic due to the deaths of three people, two of whom were infants, and the UK restricted unvaccinated children from attending school. Since the beginning of 2023, Austria has faced several outbreaks that have already caused around 200 cases, and dozens of unvaccinated children were infected at a school in Guillerand-Grange (Ardèche, France) in an episode that already accounts for more than 60 cases and several hospitalizations.

Is there a risk of outbreaks in Spain?

Spain was declared free of “endemic transmission” of the virus by the WHO in 2017. Vaccination coverage in our country is optimal, so the risk is much lower than in the rest of Europe. According to the Ministry of Health, 97.2% of children born in Spain received a first dose on their first birthday in 2022, although in five communities the percentage fell below 95% – which is optimal -: Castile and Leon (94.8% ), Canary Islands (94.7%), Catalonia (94.4%), La Rioja (91.1%) and Castile-La Mancha (90.4%).