Two doses of vaccine are enough to keep one of the world's most contagious diseases at bay. However, in many cases children only receive the first vaccination. In Germany, the RKI has observed an increase in measles cases “particularly since January 2024”.
According to a study, the number of infections with measles rose massively worldwide last year. As can be seen from the joint work of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US health authority CDC published on Thursday, an estimated 10.3 million people were infected with the disease in 2023 – 20 percent more than in the previous year. The main reason for this is “inadequate immunization”.
One of the world's most contagious diseases can be prevented with two doses of vaccine, it said. But last year 22 million children did not receive their first dose of vaccination. Worldwide, 83 percent of children received a first dose, but only 74 percent received a second. If 95 percent of children in every country, region and group are vaccinated, outbreaks could be prevented.
The number of people who died from measles, however, fell last year by around eight percent to 107,500, most of them small children under the age of five. The WHO and CDC explained this in their study by saying that the number of infections rose particularly in countries where the risk of death for children is generally lower due to better health care and nutritional status.
Fever, photophobia, rash
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease that is transmitted more quickly than the flu. In addition to typical symptoms such as fever, photophobia, inflammation of the mucous membrane in the mouth and a red rash, life-threatening complications such as meningitis can also occur. Although measles is often perceived as a typical childhood disease, unvaccinated adults can also become infected.
“Measles vaccinations have saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years,” said WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. According to WHO information, around 57 million deaths were prevented between 2000 and 2020 because of vaccinations. More needs to be done to ensure that all children everywhere are vaccinated, said Tedros.
WHO and CDC said 57 countries reported outbreaks in 2023, almost half of them in Africa. Among other things, children miss their vaccinations when their families are fleeing violence and conflict. The number of conflicts and displaced people worldwide has been growing for years.
In Germany, the Robert Koch Institute has observed an increase in measles cases since 2023 “and especially since January 2024.” However, they were still well below the level before the corona pandemic. From January 1, 2023 to March 15, 2024, 94 cases were reported; in 2019 there were 516. With the global increase, infections could increasingly be imported into Germany again, the RKI warned in March.
AFP/dpa/sara
