About 20 countries are experiencing an upsurge in cases of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
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Africa is affected by a very sharp increase in measles cases due to the delay in childhood vaccination. The continent is affected by a 400% increase for the first three months of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021, the WHO regional office announced on Thursday April 28.
From January to March, nearly 17,500 cases of this highly contagious viral disease were recorded in Africa. Twenty countries have reported measles outbreaks, eight more than in the first three months of 2021, says the Africa office of the World Health Organization.
On Wednesday, the WHO and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF) announced in Geneva that reported cases of measles had jumped 79% worldwide during the first two months of the year compared with the same last year period. Most outbreaks have been reported in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region, the two UN organizations said.
According to WHO Africa, other vaccine-preventable diseases are also on the rise. Twenty-four African countries confirmed outbreaks of a polio variant in 2021, four more than in 2020. Thirteen reported outbreaks of yellow fever, up from nine in 2020 and three in 2019.
“Inequalities in access to vaccines, the disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, including the severe strain on health system capacities, have disrupted routine immunization services in many African countries and led suspension of vaccination campaigns”explains the WHO.