Reuters
The rise is due to increased vaccination skepticism
The number of measles cases in Europe doubled to reach the highest level in 25 years last year, health officials say.
A joint report by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund UNICEF said children under the age of five account for more than 40% of cases reported in Europe and Central Asia.
“Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,” said the European regional director. “Without high vaccination rates, there’s no health safety.”
The MMR vaccine – immunizing people against measles, mumps and rubella – is 97% effective in combating dangerous viruses.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can be spread by coughing or sneezing.
Common symptoms include:
High Fever Sole, Red, Watery Eye Sculpture
Measles virus can lead to pneumonia, swelling of the brain, and death.
A joint WHO/UNICEF analysis covering 53 countries states that there are 127,350 measles cases reported in the European region in 2024 – the highest since 1997.
A total of 38 deaths had been reported by March 6, 2025.
They said measles cases had been declining since 1997, but the trend reversed in 2018-19, with a significant increase from 2023-24 “following a setback in vaccination coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic.”
“Vaccination rates in many countries have not yet returned to pre-pandemic levels, increasing the risk of an outbreak,” they warned.
The European region accounted for a third of all measles cases worldwide in 2024, the joint analysis states. Within the region, Romania had the highest number of cases, followed by 30,692 – followed by 28,147 Kazakhstan.
A WHO/UNICEF statement concluded that measles remained a “significant global threat,” urging governments with lawsuits to take prompt action, and those that weren’t prepared for the virus to act.
Two recent deaths have occurred in the US as a disease considered “excluded” in the US in 2000 and the disease spread across Canada.
The decline in vaccination rates has been blamed on recent flare-ups.
In Europe, for example, eight out of 10 people diagnosed with measles and measles last year were not vaccinated, according to data from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC).
The 2023 estimates only four countries, Hungary, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia, met the 95% vaccination threshold to prevent the outbreak, the ECDC said Tuesday.
With the vaccination rate for two doses below 90%, concerns have also been raised in the UK over spreading the disease.
Dr Ben Kasstan Davusch of the London School of Health has warned people against trusting unverified information on social media.
“We have also learned from the Covid-19 vaccination programme that misinformation can move quickly and affect people’s decisions. It is important to note that social media vaccine information may not be based on scientific evidence,” Dr. Kasstan-Dabush said.
