The number of children sickened by
measles in 2019 was the highest in 23 years, according to new data published by
the World Health Organization and the US Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
The number of
children sickened by measles in 2019 was the highest in 23 years, according to
new data published by the World
Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and
Prevention.
In a study published on Thursday, WHO and CDC said there were nearly 870,000
cases of measles last year, and the number of deaths about 207,500 increased by
almost 50% since 2016. Officials blamed the record number of cases on a
significant drop in vaccination; children must receive two doses of the measles
vaccine to avoid being sickened by the highly contagious disease.
These data send a
clear message that we are failing to protect children from measles in every
region of the world, said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a
statement.
To prevent measles
outbreaks, WHO estimates about 95% of the population must be immunized.
Vaccination coverage using two measles vaccines has stalled between about 70%
and 85% globally.
WHO and CDC warned
that the global efforts to stop the coronavirus
pandemic have also complicated measles vaccination campaigns, allowing the
disease to spread further. The agencies said that, as of this month, more than
94 million people in 26 countries are at risk of missing their measles shots
because of paused measles vaccination campaigns and many of those countries are
suffering ongoing epidemics.
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