“Measles has returned, and it is a attention call“Dr. Hans Klug, Regional Director of the World Health Organization (WHO) for the European Region, warned.
A total of 127,350 cases in the region were reported in 2024, twice the cases reported by 2023 and the highest number since 1997, according to WHO analysis and UN Children's Fund (UNICEF).
Among the most contagious viruses that affect people, measles can damage the immune system by “erasing” their memory of how to combat infections, leaving survivors vulnerable to other diseases.
In addition to hospitalization and death caused by complications that include pneumonia, encephalitis, diarrhea and dehydration, measles can also cause long -term debilitating health complications such as blindness.
Reported deaths
It is estimated that there were 107,500 measles deaths worldwide in 2023, mainly among children not vaccinated or not vaccinated under five, according to WHO.
“Measles remains a significant global threat“The UN agencies said, pointing out the 359,521 cases reported by 2024 worldwide.
Current outbreaks and deaths have been informed worldwide, even in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the United States and the countries of any other region.
Based on the preliminary data received as of March 6, 2025, a total of 38 deaths have been reported for the WHO European region, which includes 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia.
Posteria after COVID-19
The region represented a third of all cases of measles worldwide in 2024.
The UN agencies indicated a resurgence in 2018 and 2019, with 89,000 and 106,000 cases respectively, after a period of decrease since 1997, with 216,000 reported cases, which reached a minimum of 4,440 in 2016.
After a setback in the Immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, the cases increased significantly again by 2023 and 2024, UN said the UN agencies, and added that vaccination rates in many countries have not yet returned to pre-pondemic levels, increasing the risk of outbreaks.
The transmission of the virus through the borders and the continents occurs regularly, and the outbreaks of this highly infectious disease will occur where the virus finds pockets where vaccine levels are insufficient, particularly children, they warned.
Currently, children under five accounted for more than 40 percent of the cases reported in the region, and more than half of all cases required hospitalization.
Ask urgent government action
“Measles cases in Europe and Central Asia have shot themselves in the last two years, pointing out the gap in immunization coverage“Said Regina de Dominicis, regional director of UNICEF for Europe and Central Asia.
Only in 2023, 500,000 children throughout the region lost the first dose of the measles vaccine (MCV1) that must be administered through routine immunization services.
“To protect children from this deadly and weakening disease, We need urgent government action including sustained investment in health workers, ”he said.
'Without health safety' without vaccines
Who is Dr. Kluge, said “we cannot afford to lose ground”, since the agency shapes its regional health strategy to address such serious problems.
“Without high vaccination rates, there is no health safety“Dr. Klug said.
“All countries must intensify efforts to get to underlying communities. The measles virus never rests and we cannot. “
In fact, vaccination is the best line of defense against virus, UN agencies insisted.
Hot sprout outbreak
The last analysis found that Romania reported the largest number of cases, 30,692, in the region by 2024, followed by 28,147 in Kazakhstan.
At the same time, less than 80 percent of eligible children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, Macedonia del Norte and Romania were vaccinated with MCV1 in 2023.
Both in Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, the coverage rate for MCV1 has remained below 70 percent and 50 percent respectively during the last five or more years.
That is well below the coverage rate of 95 percent required to retain the immunity of the flock, UN agencies pointed out.
Campaigns to get
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 getting involved with communities.
Efforts include training health workers, strengthening vaccine programs and disease surveillance systems and initiating measles immunization recovery campaigns.
UN agencies are asking governments with active outbreaks to urgently intensify the case discovery, contact tracking and emerge vaccination campaigns.
Root cause analysis
“It is imperative that the countries analyze the fundamental causes of the outbreaks, address the weaknesses in their health systems and strategically use epidemiological data to identify and close the coverage gaps,” UN agencies declared.
Reaching the hesitant parents and marginalized communities and addressing inequitable access to vaccines must be fundamental for all efforts, they added.
They also warned that countries that do not have current measles outbreaks must be prepared, even through the identification and boarding of gaps in immunity, building and maintaining public confidence in vaccines and the maintenance of strong health systems.
