The backstory: The pandemic and rising hesitancy delayed vaccinations.
In the 1990s, false claims that the measles-mumps-rubella vaccine caused autism led to a drop in vaccination rates. Public health campaigns have since reversed much of that deficit, but rates have fallen again during the COVID-19 pandemic, particularly in low-income countries.
The measles virus is particularly good at finding vulnerabilities, which could be followed by outbreaks of other vaccine-preventable diseases, said Dr. Schulz, dean of the O’Donnell School of Public Health at the University of Texas Southwestern in Dallas. said one Dr. Saad Omar.
“Measles is usually the canary in the coal mine,” Dr. Omar says.
In the United States, nine measles cases have been recorded this year in Philadelphia, Washington state has three confirmed cases and three others are under investigation, and several states each have one measles contact. are tracking the person.
As of January, 49 countries were experiencing what the WHO calls “major or devastating outbreaks,” said Dr. Natasha Crowcroft, the agency’s senior adviser for measles and rubella.
There were 250 confirmed measles cases in the UK in 2023, most of them in children under 10 years old. According to the WHO, one in five cases in Europe last year was in adults over the age of 20.
While these numbers may seem modest, Dr. Omar said they signal the need for public health officials to ramp up vaccination campaigns.
“If a fire has just started, it’s time to do everything in your power to extinguish it immediately, rather than waiting for it to spread,” he said.
Red line: Vaccination coverage should not fall below 95%.
To keep measles under control, at least 95% of the population needs to be vaccinated. In Europe, the proportion of people who have received their first dose has fallen from 96% in 2019 to 93% in 2022.
From 2020 to 2022, more than 1.8 million infants were not vaccinated against measles.
Dr Crowcroft said of the rise in measles cases in Europe: “We knew this was going to happen, so it’s not news to us.”
“There are times when being right doesn’t make you happy at all, and this is one of them.”
