The number of measles cases in Europe has exploded in 2023 compared to the previous year, the European branch of the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday, calling for intensified vaccination efforts.
For the whole of 2023, 42,200 cases were recorded in 41 of the 53 member countries of the region, which extends to Central Asia, almost 45 times more than the previous year, according to figures communicated late Tuesday afternoon by the WHO.
In 2022, 941 cases had been reported.
Kazakhstan and Russia are the most affected countries with more than 10,000 cases each. With 183 cases, the United Kingdom is the country in Western Europe where the resurgence of the disease, considered eliminated in 2021, is the most obvious.
Over the first ten months of 2023, the period over which the WHO clarified its analysis, the increase is thirty times compared to the same period of 2022.
“We have seen in the region not only a 30-fold increase in measles cases, but also almost 21,000 hospitalizations and five deaths linked to measles. This is worrying,” said WHO regional director Hans Kluge, quoted in the press release.
“Urgent vaccination efforts are needed to stop transmission and prevent spread. »
Fewer vaccinations during COVID-19
The resurgence of this highly contagious viral disease, which can cause life-threatening complications and is spread through the air, is attributed to a decline in vaccination coverage during the COVID years.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has had a significant impact on the performance of the immunization system during this period, leading to an accumulation of unvaccinated or insufficiently vaccinated children,” adds the organization.
According to the WHO, which is calling for intensified campaigns to raise awareness among unvaccinated communities, more than 1.8 million infants in the region have not been vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022.
The disease, which manifests itself by a rash preceded by rhinitis, conjunctivitis, cough, accompanied by very high fever and great fatigue, can affect all age groups.
In 2023, however, two out of five cases were recorded in children between one and four years old, and only one in five among those over 20 years old.
Objective: 95% vaccination coverage
At the local level, at least 95% of children must be vaccinated to avoid possible outbreaks during importation of the virus. By 2022, only 92% of European children had received a second dose of vaccine.
In certain areas of the United Kingdom, around Birmingham, the vaccination rate is down to 81%, British health authorities said on Friday.
The WHO estimates that measles vaccination prevented 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2021.
In 2021, the number of deaths from the disease is estimated at 128,000 worldwide, mainly among unvaccinated or under-vaccinated children under five.
By 2022, 83% of children worldwide had received a dose of measles vaccine before their first birthday, the lowest rate since 2008, according to the United Nations.