Measles cases soar in Europe — WHO

COPENHAGEN, Denmark - Reported measles cases soared above 30,000 in Europe between January and October last year, 30 times higher than in 2022, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on Tuesday, calling for "urgent" vaccination efforts.

"We have seen in the region not only a 30-fold increase in measles cases, but also nearly 21,000 hospitalizations and five measles-related deaths. This is concerning," said the organization.

The cases were reported by 40 of the 53 nations in the WHO's Europe region, which includes Russia and Central Asia.

Russia and Kazakhstan fared the worst, with 10,000 cases each. In Western Europe, Britain had the most cases with 183.

Vaccination rates against the disease slipped during the Covid-19 pandemic and "urgent vaccination efforts are needed to halt transmission and prevent further spread".

Some 1.8 million infants in the WHO's Europe region were not vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022.

"It is vital that all countries are prepared to rapidly detect and timely respond to measles outbreaks, which could endanger progress towards measles elimination."

Vaccination rates against measles have been dropping across the globe.

In 2022, 83 percent of children received a first measles vaccine during their first year of life, up from 81-percent coverage in 2021, but down from 86 percent before the pandemic, WHO has said previously.

In 2021, there were an estimated 128,000 measles deaths worldwide, mostly among under-vaccinated or unvaccinated children under five, it said. — Agence France-Presse