The number of measles cases worldwide increased by 79% last year, warns WHO

Some 306,000 cases were declared in 2023, which represents a jump in contamination, particularly in Europe.

The World Health Organization (WHO) is alarmed by the rapid spread of measles around the world, with more than 306,000 cases reported last year, representing an increase of 79% in one year. Because of this jump, “we also expect an increase in the number of deaths in 2023”but the data will not be available until November, Natasha Crowcroft, technical adviser for measles and rubella at the WHO, told reporters. “There has been a steady increase in measles cases in all but one WHO region”the Americas region.

The latest global data (as of February 2024) shows precisely 306,291 cases reported to the WHO in 2023, compared to 171,156 cases in 2022, an increase of 79%, but the organization emphasizes that the real figures are much higher students. According to WHO estimates, there were 9.2 million cases last year. The resurgence of this highly contagious viral disease, which can cause fatal complications and is spread through the air, is attributed to a drop in vaccination coverage during the Covid years.

Global vaccination coverage at 83%

More than 30,000 cases of measles were recorded last year in Europe, the WHO had already announced, i.e. thirty times more than in 2022. Kazakhstan and Russia are the most affected countries with more than 10,000 cases each. France benefits from vaccination coverage among infants “close to the goal to eliminate the disease”, reported Public Health France at the end of January. The country will have just over a hundred cases in 2023, according to unconsolidated data.

“Measles and rubella prevention is no longer a global and governmental priority due to competing issues such as Covid-19, economic crises, conflicts…”, specifies the WHO in a note sent to the media. Measles prevention requires that 95% of children receive two doses of vaccine against this disease. However, at the global level, vaccination coverage stands at 83% and has not returned to the 2019 level (86%).

There were 51 major measles outbreaks last year, compared to 32 in 2022, said Natasha Crowcroft. In order to determine the number of deaths caused by this disease, the WHO usually carries out modeling. It does not yet have the results for 2023, but “I can tell you that in 2022, the number of deaths increased by 43% according to our models, to more than 130,000 deaths due to measles”noted the expert, who spoke by videoconference from Cairo.