Measles resurfaces strongly in Europe and is worrying, WHO warns

The World Health Organization (WHO) today issued a report in which it warns of "dramatic resurgence" of measles in Europe, which has caused almost 90,000 cases in the first half of 2019, double the number reported in the same period in 2018.

Measles resurgence is a major concern not only in Europe, but globally considering that measles cases have increased by 300 percent worldwide, according to a preliminary report for the first quarter of this year.

While some European countries have implemented stricter vaccination policies (France and Italy prohibits enrollment in daycare without vaccines and Germany and the Netherlands are studying it), there are still rejection movements for vaccines that have fueled the epidemics throughout the continent.

In Babies and more WHO warns that measles cases in the world have skyrocketed to historical figures

Countries that are no longer measles free

Faced with the unstoppable wave of measles cases, WHO has reported that four countries in the region have lost the status of measles-free countries. These are: United Kingdom, Greece, Czech Republic and Albania.

On the other hand, Austria and Switzerland reached the state of elimination, after having demonstrated the interruption of endemic transmission for at least 36 months.

Spain is among the 35 countries that during 2018 have achieved or sustained the elimination of measles.

Among the most affected countries is Ukraine, with the highest number of measles cases in Europe (more than 70 percent of cases), followed by Kazakhstan and Georgia.

“Restoring measles transmission is worrisome. If high immunization coverage is not achieved and maintained in all communities, both children and adults will suffer unnecessarily and some will die tragically, ”says Dr. Günter Pfaff, President of the RVC (European Regional Verification Commission for Elimination of Measles and Rubella).

In Babies and more Measles vaccine: everything you need to know

The vaccine: the only prevention

Measles is a highly contagious disease, and although in most cases it usually resolves in two to three weeks, complications caused by measles end up in a hospital stay in up to a quarter of the cases, and can cause serious sequelae for the entire disease. life, such as brain damage and loss of vision and hearing.

It can even cause death, being the most vulnerable groups babies who have not yet been vaccinated, adults, pregnant women and immunocompromised people.

In Babies and more Measles alert in Europe: which are the most affected countries

There is no specific treatment for this disease, but it is preventable through two safe and effective vaccination doses. The measles vaccine is part of the triple viral with rubella and mumps. According to the 2019 AEP vaccine schedule, a first dose is given at 12 months and a second booster dose between three and four years.

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