More than half the world is facing high measles risk, WHO says
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More than half of the world’s countries will be at a high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent action is taken, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).
Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that mainly affects children under the age of five. It can be prevented by vaccination – more than 50 million deaths have been averted since 2000, the WHO says.
But after falling for decades, cases have been rising across most regions, mainly due to missed vaccinations during COVID-19, Reuters reports.
Reported cases have fallen across the globe in recent decades. Image: Our World in DataDeath rates from measles are higher in poorer countries with weaker health systems, but the WHO warned middle and high-income countries were also at risk. Recent outbreaks have included clusters of cases across England and a small but growing outbreak in Florida.
Natasha Crowcroft, a WHO Senior Technical Adviser on Measles and Rubella, called for urgent action from governments to protect children.
“We can see, from data that’s produced with WHO data by the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), that more than half of all the countries in the world are going to be at high or very high risk of outbreaks by the end of this year,” she told a press briefing in Geneva.
Alongside getting vaccine programmes back on track, countries must detect and respond quickly to outbreaks to limit further transmission, the World Economic Forum wrote earlier this month.
By Shyam Bishen
https://www.weforum.org/agenda/2024/02/health-stories-measles-mental-health/
