CNN
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Researchers say the number of measles cases worldwide will nearly double from 2022 to 2023, posing challenges to efforts to achieve and maintain elimination status in many countries.
According to Dr. Patrick O’Connor of the World Health Organization, the number of infected people worldwide in 2022 was 171,153. the study ESCMID Global Conference held in Barcelona on Saturday. Preliminary data shows that 321,582 people will be infected in 2023, and more than 94,000 people will be infected so far in 2024, but the number is likely even higher.
Almost half of this year’s infections have occurred in the WHO’s European region, with the highest rates in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Yemen.
As of Friday, 128 measles cases have been reported in the United States this year in 20 jurisdictions, according to reports. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. This is the highest number since 2019.
The United States was declared measles-free in 2000, meaning that “measles is not endemic in the country and new cases are only detected when people have contracted measles abroad and return home.” ” states the CDC. But a surge in cases this year threatens to eradicate the disease, authorities say.
Measles is a highly contagious airborne disease. It can cause serious health problems and death, especially for young children and unvaccinated children.
Common symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a rash with red spots. According to the CDC, about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the United States who contract measles will be hospitalized. About one in every 20 children who get measles develops pneumonia, and some develop a dangerous swelling of the brain called encephalitis. Up to 3 in 1,000 children infected with measles can die from respiratory and neurological complications.
It can also cause “immune amnesia” that increases the risk of other infections for weeks or years.
Mr O’Connor said on Saturday that measles vaccination had prevented an estimated 57 million deaths between 2000 and 2022.
In the United States, CDC Children should receive their first vaccination to prevent measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) between the ages of 12 and 15 months. Children receive their second dose between the ages of 4 and 6.
This vaccine is considered highly effective. It is 93% effective against measles after one dose and 97% effective after two doses. People who have been vaccinated can still get sick, but it doesn’t happen often and it’s usually a mild infection.
The United States has set a vaccination rate of 95%, but vaccination rates among kindergarteners have fallen below that target in recent years. In the 2022-23 school year, only 93.1% of U.S. kindergarteners will have completed the MMR vaccine series, leaving approximately 250,000 children at risk.
O’Connor said in a presentation on Saturday that measles is a “crisis of many crises” and that about 45% of outbreaks occur in fragile countries affected by conflict.
“Over the past 20 years, great progress has been made toward eliminating measles and rubella,” he said in a news release. “To solidify and sustain these gains, we need to ensure widespread, uniform and equitable coverage of routine immunization; and strong outreach and rapid outbreak response.”
