French.china.org.cn | Updated on 11-02-2023
The World Health Organization (WHO) Regional Office for Europe on Friday urged countries in the region to immediately develop targeted measles vaccination catch-up strategies.
Since the beginning of 2022, cases of measles, a disease caused by a highly contagious respiratory virus, have been steadily increasing in the WHO European Region, following a period of very low detection in 2021.
Routine coverage of at least 95% with two doses of a measles-containing vaccine will be enough to stop the spread of the virus and prevent major outbreaks from happening once more, according to WHO Europe.
However, the WHO noted that persistent immunity deficiencies and missed vaccine doses during the COVID-19 pandemic have left many people vulnerable to the life-threatening disease measles, including including an increased number of children.
WHO Europe has also urged countries to strengthen their measles surveillance in order to detect and investigate suspected cases without delay.
After major measles outbreaks in 2018 and 2019, with nearly 200,000 reported cases, reported measles cases in the region have fallen to just over 12,000 in 2020.
Only 159 measles cases were reported in 22 countries in 2021. However, this figure increased in 2022, with 904 cases reported in 27 countries so far, according to WHO statistics.
