The World Health Organization (WHO) issued an urgent warning on January 23rd regarding measles in Europe, with over 30,000 cases expected between January and October 2023. This compares to 941 cases in 2022.
According to the WHO, two out of every five measles cases are children aged 1 to 4 years old. Meanwhile, one in five cases is in people over 20 years old. This trend is expected to worsen if people do not have their children vaccinated.
Dr. Hans Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe, said: “We are seeing in the region not only a 30-fold increase in measles cases but also nearly 21,000 hospitalizations and 5 measles-related deaths (reported in two countries).”
According to Dr. Hans Kluge, vaccination is the only way to protect children from this potentially dangerous disease. Urgent vaccination efforts are needed to stop the spread of the epidemic.
Cases of measles have been reported in 40 of the 53 countries in the European region. Russia and Kazakhstan have the highest number of infections, with around 10,000 cases each, while the UK has the most cases in Western Europe with 183.
According to experts, measles can be a serious illness at any age. The disease usually begins with a high fever and rash, often resolving within 10 days, but complications can include pneumonia, meningitis, blindness, and seizures.
Babies who are too young to receive their first dose of the vaccine, pregnant women, and those with weakened immune systems are at the highest risk. During pregnancy, measles can lead to miscarriage or low birth weight babies.
Health officials warn that infections are still rising and that "urgent measures" are needed to prevent further spread.
The alarming increase in measles cases in Europe over the past year is believed to be due to the low number of measles vaccinations among children during the Covid-19 pandemic. Approximately 1.8 million infants in the WHO's European region were not vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022.
Minh Hoa (compiled from Thanh Nien newspaper, Vietnam Communist Party's editorial board)
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