In the first two months of 2019, 34,300 cases of measles have been recorded in 42 European countries, according to the latest report of the World Health Organization (WHO).
These data confirm the alarming growth of the disease in the last three years. Ukraine has been the most affected country, followed by Serbia and France.
Three times more measles cases than in 2017
As of March 28, 2019, WHO had registered a total of 83,540 cases of measles (82,596 in 2018) and 74 related deaths since January 2018, in 47 European countries. When compared to 25,869 cases and 42 deaths in 2017, and 5,273 cases and 13 deaths in 2016, we find that 2018 was the year with the most people infected with measles in the last decade: three times the total reported in 2017 and 15 times the record number of people affected in 2016.
In addition, in countries that reported measles data, almost two thirds (61%) of measles cases were hospitalized.
In Babies and more Measles alert in Europe: 69 deaths in the last two years, the same as in the previous 17And that increase comes after a year in which Europe reached its highest coverage in the second dose of measles vaccine (90% in 2017). But even so, in 2018 the countries affected with measles outbreaks have experienced a series of challenges, including a decrease or stagnation in the general coverage of systematic immunization, a low coverage among some marginalized groups and gaps in immunity of the larger populations. Most cases of measles have been in children and older unvaccinated.
The countries most affected by measles in Europe
According to WHO data, more than 70 percent of measles cases in 2018 were registered in Ukraine, where there were 25,000 positives.
Among the reasons mentioned: the beginning of the conflict with Russia in 2014, due to the annexation of Crimea, which caused coverage to plummet to 42% in 2016 due to a shortage of vaccines in 2016.
Immunization figures have improved greatly in the past two years, but they are still below 87% and far from the 95% overall immunization.But in 2018, other European countries also reported more than 2,000 cases of measles:
Serbia: 5,076
Israel: 3,150
France: 2,913
Italy: 2,686
Russia: 2,256
Georgia: 2,203
Greece: 2,193.
It also grows in Spain
In our country, vaccination rates are close to 97% and WHO data shows that just over 200 cases have been accounted for since January 2018 until last April, one of the lowest incidence rates in Europe .
However, the latest data from the European Center for Disease Control, indicate that In the first three months of the year in Spain, 37 confirmed measles cases were recorded.
The Spanish Pediatric Association compares our country with our European neighbors, according to the European EpiDATA case registration program:
Among the 53 countries in the region: Spain's rate is the thirty-eighth position, and in terms of the number of cases, our country occupies the twentieth position.
Among the 21 of our closest environment: Spain has the lowest rate of all, and is the twelfth in number of cases.
Cases in 2018: 225. Of these, 220 (97.8%) confirmed by laboratory and 35 were imported.
But for the immunization to be global, children must continue to be vaccinated and not let their guard down.
In Babies and more, measles cases increase worldwide by 300 percent, WHO warnsAccording to the most recent report of the European Commission for Regional Verification for the Elimination of Measles and Rubella (RVC), based on 2017 data, the elimination of measles has been verified in 37 (of the 53) countries of the European region of WHO, which documented the interruption of transmission for at least 36 months.
Ten countries, including Germany, Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Russia, France, Georgia, Italy, Romania, Serbia and Ukraine, remain endemic to measles.
But even with the application of outbreak response measures, explains WHO, measles continues to circulate in Europe as a result of the lack of population immunity. If the response to the outbreak is not timely and complete, the virus will reach more outbreaks of vulnerable individuals and potentially spread to other countries inside and outside Europe.
Immunization, the best treatment
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease. It remains one of the leading causes of morbidity and mortality among young children around the world, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine. The transmission from person to person is by air, as well as by direct or indirect contact of the secretions (nasal, throat) of an infected person. The virus can cause widespread outbreaks.
In Babies and more Unicef alert: 21.1 million children did not get vaccinated against measles in the last eight yearsInitial measles symptoms, which usually appear 10 to 12 days after infection, include high fever, runny nose, red eyes, cough and small white spots inside the mouth.
A few days later, a rash develops, which begins on the face and upper neck and gradually extends downward. A patient is usually infectious four days before the onset of the rash and four days after the onset of the rash.
WHO explains that There is no specific antiviral treatment for measles. High vaccination coverage of at least 95% with two doses of measles vaccines in all population and age groups nationwide is crucial for their elimination and immunization of all, including babies, who are too small to be vaccinated and others who cannot be immunized due to existing diseases and medical conditions.
WHO says that any opportunity to vaccinate children, adolescents and susceptible adults should be seized. And it is also recommended for children under one year of age traveling to countries where measles is endemic or there are outbreaks.
And if the World Health Organization, UNICEF, the Spanish Association of Pediatrics and the European Commission of the Regional Verification Commission for the Elimination of Measles and Rubella say so, why do children continue to be vaccinated against this serious disease that is charged lives? I don't have the answer, and you?
