Measles and whooping cough boom in Europe, with infections rebounding after declines during the Covid-19 pandemic. The European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) denounced the trend on the occasion of European Immunization Week. «The number of measles cases – reports the ECDC – began to increase in 2023 and this trend continued in several Member States of the European Union. Between March 2023 and the end of February 2024, at least 5,770 cases of measles were reported, with at least 5 deaths. The highest risk is among children under one year old, who are too young to be vaccinated”, but “should be protected by community immunity. Measles spreads very easily, therefore high vaccination coverage, equal to at least 95% of the population vaccinated with two doses, is essential to interrupt transmission.
«Since mid-2023 – continues the ECDC – an increase in cases of whooping cough has been reported in several countries of the EU and the European Economic Area, with preliminary data indicating cases more than tenfold in 2023 and 2024 compared to 2022 and to 2021. Young people are at greater risk of serious illness and death. To best protect them, it is essential to ensure that all recommended vaccines are administered on time. Vaccination during pregnancy can also protect young children.”
“It is disheartening to see that, despite decades of well-documented vaccine safety and efficacy, EU/EEA countries still face epidemics of several vaccine-preventable diseases,” said Andrea Ammon, director of the ECDC. «Achieving and maintaining high vaccination coverage, disease surveillance and timely response actions to control epidemics – underlines Ammon – remain the key actions against these diseases. Vaccines have protected many generations and we should ensure this continues to be the case.” Over the past 3 years, more than 1.8 million children in the WHO European Region have missed measles vaccination.
Tags: Healthcare nightmare numbers measles whooping cough vaccines Tempo
