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Doctors newspaper online, 14.08.2019
WHO worried
Alarming measles numbers are reported by the WHO. In Europe, the infectious disease continues to spread.
By Anne Bäurle
The highest increase of measles falls in Africa: case numbers increased by 900 percent this year.
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GENEVA. Three times as many measles cases were registered worldwide in the first half of 2019 as in the same period in 2018. From January 1 to June 30, 2019, 182 countries reported a total of 364,808 cases to the World Health Organization (WHO) during the same period Last year 129,239 cases.
This emerges from a recent WHO report on the worldwide measles situation. With a figure of almost 365,000 cases in just six months, 2019 will exceed the number of cases in the first half of the year from 2006 to 2018. By 2016, measles numbers worldwide were on the decline.
High dark digit
WHO estimates the actual number of measles infections to be much higher, probably less than one in ten cases reported. The current WHO estimates of actual numbers refer to 2017: 6.7 million people fell ill with measles in 2017, and 110,000 died.
A particularly high increase will be recorded in Africa in 2019, reports the WHO. Here, the number of cases has increased by 900 percent. In the Western Pacific region, an increase of 230 percent was registered in 2019, [in an increase of 150 percent in the European region.
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Picking!
"Millions of people are in danger worldwide," warns the organization, recommending a general review of vaccination status for everyone. Existing implants should be closed urgently. When traveling in high-risk areas, vaccination should take place at least 15 days prior to departure, starting at the age of six months.
Congo, Madagascar and Ukraine reported the highest numbers of cases in the first half of 2019, but the USA also reported more measles infections than in the past 25 years. According to the WHO, there are large, persistent measles outbreaks in Angola, Cameroon, the Chad, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan and Thailand.
See also:
Europe comparison: Only four countries achieve adequate measles vaccination quota
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