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Geneva [Switzerland], November 13 (ANI / Sputnik): Deaths from childhood measles disease increased 50 times last year from 2016 levels, with this year’s coronavirus pandemic threatening another spike in cases by reducing programs global vaccination, a press release warned the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF).
“Before there was a coronavirus crisis, the world was in the throes of a measles crisis, and it didn’t go away,” UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore said in Thursday’s statement. “Although 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.”
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The statement cited a recent report from the United Nations World Health Organization, which recorded 207,500 deaths from measles in 2019, the highest toll in 23 years and a 50% increase since 2016.
Although reported measles cases are lower so far in 2020, efforts to control COVID-19 have led to disruptions in vaccination and paralyzed efforts to prevent and minimize measles outbreaks, the statement said.
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In November, more than 94 million people were at risk of losing their vaccines due to suspended measles campaigns in 26 countries, many of which are now experiencing ongoing epidemics, the statement added.
Of those countries, only eight – Brazil, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines and Somalia – have resumed their vaccination campaigns after initial delays, according to the release. (ANI / Sputnik)
(This is an unedited story and auto-generated from the syndicated news feed, LatestLY staff may not have edited or edited the content body)
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