More than 30,000 people in Europe contracted measles in the first ten months of 2023, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).
This is a significant increase considering there were fewer than 1,000 identified cases in all of 2022. The WHO is now raising concerns about an increasingly low measles vaccination rate.
In addition to the surge in cases, there were nearly 21,000 hospitalisations and five deaths, stated the Regional Director Hans Kluge, in a mid-December announcement. However, these figures are not for the full year of 2023 and cover only cases reported by 40 out of 53 European WHO Member States, including Central Asia.
Since the Covid-19 pandemic began in 2020, vaccination rates have receded in Europe. Many children are currently not receiving all their vaccinations, if any. In total, more than 1.8 million infants in this area did not receive measles vaccines between 2020 and 2022.
"Urgent vaccination efforts are required to halt transmission and prevent spread," Kluge urged.
The WHO deems it crucial to return to a vaccination coverage of over 95% with two doses of measles vaccine. The rate dropped to 91% for the second dose in 2022.
