13 March 2025
“Measles is back, and
it’s a wake-up call,” warned Dr. Hans Kluge,
the World Health Organization (WHO) regional director for
the European region.
A total of 127,350 cases were
reported in the region in 2024, double the number of cases
reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997,
according to analysis
by WHO and the UN Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
Among the
most contagious viruses affecting people, measles can damage
the immune system by “erasing” its memory of how to
fight infections, leaving survivors vulnerable to other
diseases.
As well as hospitalisation and death caused
by complications including pneumonia, encephalitis,
diarrhoea and dehydration, measles can also cause long-term,
debilitating health complications such as
blindness.
Deaths reported
There were an
estimated 107,500
measles deaths globally in 2023, mostly among
unvaccinated or under vaccinated children under five,
according to WHO.
“Measles remains a
significant global threat,” the UN agencies said,
pointing to the 359,521 cases reported for 2024
worldwide.
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Current outbreaks and deaths have been
reported worldwide, including in the Democratic Republic of
the Congo, the United States and countries in every other
region.
Based on preliminary data received as of 6
March 2025, a total of 38 deaths have been reported for
WHO’s European region, which comprises 53 countries in
Europe and Central Asia.
Post-COVID-19
surge
The region accounted for one third of all
measles cases globally in 2024.
UN agencies pointed to
a resurgence in 2018 and 2019, with 89,000 and 106,000 cases
respectively, after a period of decline since 1997, with
216,000 reported cases, that reached a low of 4,440 in
2016.
Following a backsliding in immunisation coverage
during the COVID-19 pandemic,
cases rose significantly again in 2023 and 2024, the UN
agencies said, adding that vaccination rates in many
countries are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels,
increasing the risk of outbreaks.
Transmission of the
virus across borders and continents occurs regularly, and
outbreaks of this highly infectious disease will occur
wherever the virus finds pockets where vaccine levels are
insufficient – particularly children, they
cautioned.
Currently, children under five accounted
for more than 40 per cent of reported cases in the region,
and more than half of all cases required
hospitalisation.
Calls for urgent government
action
“Measles cases across Europe and
Central Asia have soared over the past two years, pointing
to gaps in immunisation coverage,” said Regina De
Dominicis, UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central
Asia.
In 2023 alone, 500,000 children across
the region missed the first dose of the measles
vaccine (MCV1) that should be given through routine
immunisation services.
“To protect children from
this deadly and debilitating disease, we need urgent
government action including sustained investment in
health care workers,” she said.
‘No health
security’ without vaccines
WHO’s Dr. Kluge said
“we can’t afford to lose ground” as the agency shapes
its regional health strategy to tackle such serious
issues.
“Without high vaccination rates,
there is no health security,” Dr. Kluge
said.
“Every country must step up efforts to reach
under-vaccinated communities. The measles virus never rests
and neither can we.”
Indeed, vaccination is the best
line of defence against the virus, the UN agencies
insisted.
Outbreak hot spots
The latest
analysis found that Romania reported the highest number of
cases – 30,692 – in the region for 2024, followed by
28,147 in Kazakhstan.
At the same time, less than 80
per cent of eligible children in Bosnia and Herzegovina,
Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania were vaccinated with
MCV1 in 2023.
In both Bosnia and Herzegovina and
Montenegro, the coverage rate for MCV1 has remained below 70
per cent and 50 per cent respectively for the past five or
more years.
That is far below the 95 per cent coverage
rate required to retain herd immunity, the UN agencies
noted.
Catch-up campaigns
UNICEF and WHO are
working with governments and health partners, including the
European Union and the GAVI Alliance, to prevent and respond
to measles outbreaks by engaging with
communities.
Efforts include training healthcare
workers, strengthening vaccine programmes and disease
surveillance systems and initiating measles immunisation
catch-up campaigns.
The UN agencies are calling for
governments with active outbreaks to urgently intensify case
finding, contact tracing and conduct emergency vaccination
campaigns.
Analysing root causes
“It is
imperative that countries analyse the root causes of
outbreaks, address weaknesses in their health systems and
strategically utilise epidemiological data to identify and
close coverage gaps,” the UN agencies
stated.
Reaching hesitant parents and marginalised
communities and tackling inequitable access to vaccines must
be central to all efforts, they added.
They also
warned that countries that do not have current measles
outbreaks should be prepared, including through identifying
and addressing gaps in immunity, building and sustaining
public trust in vaccines and maintaining strong health
systems.
