The Health Ministry in Zimbabwe said on Saturday that a major measles outbreak in the country has resulted in 685 deaths so far.
That’s four times the number two weeks ago. “Zimbabwe has 6,034 confirmed cases, including 685 deaths,” the ministry said. On September 1 alone, 191 new cases and 37 deaths were reported.
And this despite the fact that Zimbabwe offers a vaccination program once morest the disease.
Especially children between six months and 15 years have succumbed to the disease. Apparently cult events have to do with the spread of the virus. Moreover, adherents of apostolic sects do not believe in the effectiveness of vaccination and reject it.
risk of global spread
For many years there have been major advances in the fight once morest measles globally. Since 2016, however, the number of deaths has skyrocketed once more.
The highly contagious virus causes life-threatening symptoms, mainly in small children. According to the WHO, around 2.6 million people around the world died from it every year before there was a vaccine once morest measles in 1963.
The number of cases reported worldwide in the first two months of 2022 was 79 percent higher than in the same period last year. The reason for the increase is that too many children are not vaccinated, also because vaccination programs were interrupted as a result of the corona pandemic.
Likewise, some countries had to use funds earmarked for measles vaccination elsewhere. In addition, there are millions of people displaced by wars and conflicts in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Somalia and Afghanistan, whose children are not vaccinated when fleeing and who often live close together. If the distance rules introduced because of Corona are lifted, there is a risk of major outbreaks of the highly contagious virus disease.
symptoms
Measles is transmitted by droplets from coughing, sneezing and speaking. Affected people first have flu symptoms, then a skin rash. Typical complications are middle ear and pneumonia, in severe cases it can also lead to encephalitis. The disease can be fatal. In addition, the immune system is weakened in infected people and they can contract other diseases faster than healthy people.
In 2020, 23 million children would not have received the usual child protection vaccinations, more than at any time since 2009. Between April 2021 and April 2022 there were 21 major measles outbreaks, most of them in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region.
The true numbers are probably significantly higher because the reporting systems have been interrupted in many places. The largest outbreaks have been in Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
Danger also in Austria
The German Association of Vaccine Manufacturers (ÖVIH) warned in spring 2022 that there is a risk of major outbreaks due to falling vaccination rates.
