London, Jan 26: Measles cases are rising alarmingly across Europe, warned the World Health Organization (WHO), stressing the need for vaccination.
More than 30,000 measles cases were reported by 40 of the WHO European region’s 53 member states between January and October in 2023, compared to 941 cases in 2022, a 30-fold rise, the Euronews reported.
In addition to the increase in the number of cases, hospitalisation has spiked with 21,000 people admitted to hospitals and five measles-related deaths.
The numbers are expected to continually rise if urgent measures are not taken to prevent further spread, the WHO said.
The virus practically disappeared in Europe during the COVID-19 lockdowns, but “the overall number of measles cases in the EU/EEA has been steadily increasing since June 2023,” the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said in its latest weekly threats report.