2024-02-21 15:20:27
The World Health Organization has warned that more than half of the world’s countries will be vulnerable to a measles outbreak by the end of 2024 unless urgent action is taken.
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The high number of measles cases in most countries is due to the lack of vaccination during the years of the Covid-19 pandemic, when health systems were exhausted and delayed in providing routine vaccinations for preventable diseases.
“This year, 2024, we are concerned about large gaps in our immune systems, and if these gaps are not filled quickly with vaccines, measles will replace these gaps,” said Natasha Crowcroft, chief technical advisor on measles and rubella at the World Health Organization.
She added: “We can see from the data of the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, along with the data of the World Health Organization, that more than half of all countries in the world will be at high or very high risk of an outbreak of the disease by the end of this year.”
She called for urgent action to protect children, saying there was a “lack of commitment” on the part of governments due to other issues such as economic crises and conflicts.
Measles is a highly contagious viral disease transmitted through the air that affects children under the age of five and can be prevented by taking two doses of the vaccine. According to the World Health Organization, more than 50 million deaths have been avoided since 2000.
Organization data indicate that measles cases rose 79% last year to reach 300,000 cases, and this number is believed to represent a small portion of the total cases.
Outbreaks have been reported in all WHO regions except the Americas, but Crowcroft expects outbreaks to occur there as well.
Crowcroft said the death rate is higher in poor countries due to weak health systems, adding that outbreaks and deaths also pose a risk to middle- and high-income countries.
She added: “There are many outbreaks around the world and middle-income countries are suffering greatly, and we are worried that 2024 will be like 2019.”
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