Measles are back in Europe – experts sound the alarm

The measles ensure alarm mood among health experts: According to the World Health Organization WHO, the number of cases in Europe has doubled last year – the highest level has been reached in 25 years.

In total, 127,350 illnesses and 38 deaths by measles were registered in the WHO region of Europe, which includes 53 countries to Central Asia, as the WHO reports. With almost 31,000 and around 28,000 cases, Romania and Kazakhstan were the most affected.

“The measles are back, this is a wake-up call,” warned WHO European director Hans Kluge. He called on governments and authorities to strengthen their efforts to immunize immunization or not sufficiently vaccinated population groups.

In half of the measles cases registered in Europe, hospital treatment of the infected was necessary. About 40 percent of patients were children under the age of five.

According to the WHO, a total of 500,000 children in the region had not received their first measles vaccination dose in 2023. Without a high vaccination rate, however, there could be no health security, warned the European WHO European director.

Measles are a highly contagious viral disease. In addition to typical symptoms such as fever and red rash, life -threatening complications such as meningitis can also occur. Although measles are often perceived as a typical childhood disease, unvaccinated adults can also infect.

In order to eradicate the measles, at least 95 percent of a population must be completely vaccinated against the disease. A measles vaccination for daycare and school children was introduced in Germany five years ago.

The number of measles cases from 216,000 in 1997 had decreased across Europe to 4440 in 2016. The number of cases has increased again in particular since 2023, among other things because of a decline in vaccinations during Corona pandemic.