Measles incidence in the European region has increased 30 times – Kommersant

According to the Regional Office for Europe of the World Health Organization (WHO/Europe), from January to October 2023, more than 30 thousand cases of measles were registered in 40 of the 53 countries in the region, while for the whole of 2022 – only 941. Moreover, in recent months the disease has increased has intensified, this trend is expected to continue unless urgent action is taken throughout the region.

The head of the bureau, Hans Kluge, emphasized that almost 21 thousand hospitalizations and five deaths related to measles in a year were cause for concern. According to experts, this situation is largely explained by a decrease in vaccination coverage in the countries of the region in the period from 2020 to 2022. “The COVID-19 pandemic has significantly impacted the effectiveness of the immunization system during this period, leading to a backlog of unvaccinated and under-vaccinated children,” WHO/Europe said. The bureau clarified that national coverage of the first dose of measles vaccine in the region decreased from 96% in 2019 to 93% in 2022, the second – from 92% to 91%, and infants missed this vaccination altogether between 2020 and 2022 . And the resumption of domestic and international travel and the lifting of social and public health measures related to the COVID-19 pandemic have increased the risk of cross-border transmission and spread of disease within communities, especially in unvaccinated or under-vaccinated communities, WHO said.

Since cases of measles have been reported even in countries where this endemic disease has been declared eliminated, WHO calls on states in the region to maintain a very high level of routine childhood vaccination – at least 95%.

“Kommersant” previously toldthat from January to September 2023, 8,073 cases of measles were detected in Russia – compared to the same period last year, the increase was 28,732% (288 times), follows from Rospotrebnadzor data. The majority of cases (4989 people) are children under 14 years of age. This year’s incidence rates are twice as high as the previous record over the past few years (in 2019, about 4 thousand cases were recorded in January-September).

Ivan Tyazhlov