The WHO recorded "more than 500 cases" in Europe, of which 474 in seven countries: France, Italy, Switzerland, Germany, Poland, Romania and Ukraine. Italy, where more than half of the cases have been reported (283), and Romania, with 17 deaths since January 2016, are the two countries hardest hit.
Measles, a highly contagious viral infection accompanied by high fever and erythematous rash, claimed the lives of more than 134.000 people worldwide in 2015. Most of the victims were children under the age of five.
There is a "safe and effective" vaccine to prevent measles, the WHO said. Unfortunately, in the seven countries most affected in Europe, the vaccination rate is less than 95%, the threshold that is considered necessary to overcome in order to eradicate the epidemic.
"As we have made systematic progress towards eradicating the disease over the last two years, it is particularly worrying to see cases multiply in Europe," said Susanna Jacob, WHO Europe Director.
In the world's poorest countries, the cost of the vaccine remains a major barrier to vaccination, but in Europe the problem is rather the skepticism expressed by some about vaccines, according to the WHO.
Source: SigmaLive