WHO Europe Urges Swift Measles Vaccination Response
TEHRAN (Tasnim) – The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an urgent call for a measles vaccination campaign in Europe, responding to over 42,000 infections reported last year.
WHO's European branch raised concerns about the surge in cases, emphasizing Kazakhstan as one of the nations severely impacted.
"In other countries of the region, the virus is spreading rapidly, and the outbreak is attributed largely to an accumulation of susceptible children who missed routine immunization doses during the COVID-19 pandemic. 65% of the reported measles cases in Kazakhstan have been children under 5 years of age," stated WHO in a press release. Kazakh authorities are implementing extensive outbreak response measures, including a major vaccination campaign.
WHO Europe highlighted that 2023 saw more than 42,000 measles cases across 41 countries, a significant increase from the 941 cases reported in 2022. In a prior notice in December, the health organization called for urgent action, with Hans Kluge, WHO's regional director for Europe, emphasizing vaccines as a top priority.
"Vaccination is the only way to protect children from this potentially dangerous disease. Urgent vaccination efforts are needed to halt transmission and prevent further spread," Kluge stressed. "It is vital that all countries are prepared to rapidly detect and timely respond to measles outbreaks, which could endanger progress towards measles elimination."
The WHO attributed the rapid rise in measles infections to a backsliding in vaccination coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, significantly impacting immunization system performance in Europe. Over 1.8 million infants missed their measles shots between 2020 and 2022, with the agency recommending at least 95% coverage with standard two-dose measles vaccines to curb the outbreak. However, in 2022, second dose coverage dropped to just 91%.
Measles, caused by a highly contagious airborne virus, presents symptoms such as coughing and fever. In rare cases, it can lead to brain inflammation, pneumonia, blindness, and death. While palliative treatments exist to reduce symptom severity, and vaccinations have decreased global infections, there is currently no cure for the illness.
