Global measles cases peaked in 23 years in 2019, with deaths increasing by 50% in recent years

By NewsDesk @ bactiman63

In a joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control (CDC) on Friday, the number of measles cases rises to a global total of 869,770, the highest number of cases in 23 years. .

Global measles deaths have increased nearly 50% since 2016, claiming an estimated 207,500 lives in 2019 alone.

Countries that have recently experienced major measles outbreaks include the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC), Madagascar, the Central African Republic (CAR), Georgia, Kazakhstan, North Macedonia, Samoa, Tonga, and Ukraine.

The authors of the report cite the failure to vaccinate children in time with two doses of measles-containing vaccines (MCV1 and MCV2) as the main driver of these increases in cases and deaths.

In 2020, there were fewer cases, but the COVID-19 pandemic has further hampered vaccination efforts, with over 94 million people at risk of losing measles vaccines in 26 countries that have suspended their vaccination campaigns. including many countries with ongoing epidemics.

“Before there was a coronavirus crisis, the world was in the throes of a measles crisis, and it’s not gone,” Henrietta Fore, executive director of the United Nations Children’s Fund, said in a statement. UNICEF). “As health systems are being challenged by the COVID-19 pandemic, we must not allow our fight against one deadly disease to come at the expense of our fight against another.”

Measles outbreaks occur when people who are not protected from the virus become infected and spread the disease to unvaccinated or undervaccinated populations. To control measles and prevent epidemics and deaths, vaccination coverage rates with MCV1 and MCV2 required must reach 95% and be maintained at the national and subnational levels. MCV1 coverage has stagnated globally for over a decade between 84 and 85%. MCV2 coverage is steadily increasing, but only now is at 71%. Measles vaccination coverage remains well below the 95% or higher needed with either dose to control measles and prevent outbreaks and deaths.

During the period 2000-2019, compared with no measles vaccination, measles vaccination prevented approximately 25.5 million deaths globally.