The World Health Organization (WHO) says it has detected an “alarming” rise in measles cases in Europe over the past year and is calling for increased vaccination to combat the rise.
Fortunately for Spain, the disease is eliminated thanks to vaccination levels that have reached 95% of the population, according to the online news site Andalucía Información.
Thanks to this protection, there were just 11 confirmed cases in Spain last year, all of which were imported from other countries.
But across Europe, another 42,200 people fell ill in 2023, down from just 941 in last year’s total.
Measles is a highly contagious infectious disease caused by the measles virus. Symptoms include fever, cough, runny nose, and swollen eyes, while spots may form on the inside of the mouth. A red rash starts on the face and then spreads everywhere. The frame about 3 to five days after symptoms begin.
The disease has no treatment and usually disappears within 10 days, but headaches can be accompanied by pneumonia, meningitis, blindness and seizures.
According to the WHO, the rise in cases is partly due to a reduction in vaccination rates that was seen during the years of the Covid-19 pandemic.
“We have noticed only a 30-fold increase in measles cases in the region, but also around 21,000 hospitalizations and five measles-related deaths. This is worrying,” said Dr Hans Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe.
“Vaccination is the only way to protect young people from this potentially harmful disease,” he added.
The WHO estimates that 1. 8 million young people in Europe were vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022.
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