Doctors have raised concerns over recent 'staggering' findings that show there has been an "alarming" increase in deaths from a contagious Victoria-era disease worldwide. According to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), deaths from measles rose by 43 percent from 2021 to 2022.
It comes following years of declining vaccination rates. On the report, John Vertefeuille, director of CDC's Global Immunization Division, said: "The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we have seen in the past few years.
"Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths."
Measles is a highly contagious viral infection that primarily affects children. It's characterised by symptoms like a fever, cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes and a distinctive red rash that spreads over the body.
The virus spreads through respiratory droplets when an infected person coughs or sneezes and it can remain active in the air or on surfaces for several hours. Thankfully, there is a highly effective vaccine against it and many countries were declared measles free. However, due to a decline in parents getting their children vaccinated, outbreaks across the world have reportedly occurred.
According to stats, the global vaccine coverage rate of the first dose is at 83 per cent and the second dose at 74 per cent. But this is still well under the 95 per cent coverage with two doses, which is necessary to protect communities from outbreaks.
The WHO report highlighted that in 2022, there were significant measles outbreaks in 37 countries, an increase from 22 countries in 2021. Most of these outbreaks occurred in the Africa (28 countries), followed by the non European Eastern Mediterranean (6 countries), South-East Asia (2 countries) and one country in Europe.
"The lack of recovery in measles vaccine coverage in low-income countries following the pandemic is an alarm bell for action. Measles is called the inequity virus for good reason. It is the disease that will find and attack those who are not protected," said Kate O'Brien, WHO Director for Immunization, Vaccine and Biologicals.
According to the NHS, measles usually starts to get better in about a week. Measles can lead to serious problems if it spreads to other parts of the body, such as the lungs or brain. After seeing a GP, there are things you can do to help ease the symptoms and reduce the risk of spreading the infection.
