The U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and the World Health Organisation (WHO), in a new report, have said that 10.3 million individuals worldwide contracted measles in 2023, a 20% rise from 2022.
The report, Progress Toward Regional Measles Elimination Worldwide, 2000-2023, said although measles is preventable with two doses of measles vaccine, an estimated 107,500 people, mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2023.
“Although this is an 8% decrease from the previous year, far too many children are still dying from this preventable disease. This slight reduction in deaths was mainly because the surge in cases occurred in countries and regions where children with measles are less likely to die, due to better nutritional status and access to health services.”
According to the report, “Measles is preventable with two doses of measles vaccine; yet more than 22 million children missed their first dose of measles vaccine in 2023. Globally, an estimated 83% of children received their first dose of the measles vaccine last year, while only 74% received the recommended second dose.
“Coverage of 95% or greater of two doses of measles vaccine is needed in each country and community to prevent outbreaks and protect populations from one of the world’s most contagious human viruses.”
WHO Director-General, Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, said the measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years, saying, “To save even more lives and stop this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunisation for every person, no matter where they live.”
In a remark, CDC Director Mandy Cohen said the number of measles infections is rising around the globe, endangering lives and health.
“The measles vaccine is our best protection against the virus, and we must continue to invest in efforts to increase access,” he added.
According to the report, as a result of global gaps in vaccination coverage, 57 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks in 2023, affecting all regions except the Americas and representing a nearly 60% increase from 36 countries in the previous year.
It declared that the WHO African, Eastern Mediterranean, European, South-East Asia, and Western Pacific regions experienced a substantial upsurge in cases. Nearly half of all large and disruptive outbreaks occurred in the African region.
As measles cases surge and outbreaks increase, the world’s elimination goal, as laid out in the Immunisation Agenda 2030, is under threat. Worldwide, 82 countries had achieved or maintained measles elimination at the end of 2023.
Just this week, Brazil was reverified as having eliminated measles, making the WHO Americas Region once again free of endemic measles. Except for the African Region, at least 1 country in all WHO regions has eliminated the disease.
Urgent and targeted efforts by countries and partners, particularly in the African and Eastern Mediterranean regions and in fragile, conflict-affected, and vulnerable settings, are needed to vaccinate all children fully with two doses of the measles vaccine.
This requires achieving and maintaining high-performing routine immunisation programmes and delivering high-quality, high-coverage campaigns when those programmes are not yet sufficient to protect every child.
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