Measles outbreaks have killed at least 37 people in the European region so far this year, the European branch of the World Health Organization warned Monday. The health agency said more than 41,000 children and adults were infected with the highly contagious disease between January and June — well above the number of total cases in any other year over the past decade. Read more: WHO 'taken aback' by high number of measles cases "We are seeing a dramatic increase in infections and extended outbreaks," Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, said in a statement. "We call on all countries to immediately implement broad, context-appropriate measures to stop further spread of this disease. Good health for all starts with immunization." Read more: Measles infection rate triples in Germany What is behind the increase? The Copenhagen-based body said a main reason for the surge in infections was a drop in routine immunization coverage among marginalized groups in some countries. France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Russia, Serbia, and Ukraine all recorded more than 1,000 measles cases in the first half of 2018. Ukraine was hardest-hit, with 23,000 infections. The most fatalities were reported in Serbia, where 14 people died. Read more: UN health body calls for closing the immunization gap The measles virus can spread quickly by coughing, sneezing or personal contact with infected nose or throat secretions. The WHO said preventing outbreaks required at least 95 percent coverage with two doses of vaccine every year in every community. Between 2010 and 2017, the highest annual total for measles cases was 23,927 in 2017. The lowest was 5273 in 2016. Each evening at 1830 UTC, DW's editors send out a selection of the day's hard news and quality feature journalism. You can sign up to receive it directly here.<doc-sep>(CNN) — Cases of measles have reached a record high in Europe this year, with more cases recorded in the first six months of 2018 than any other 12-month period this decade, according to the World Health Organization (WHO). More than 41,000 children and adults contracted measles in the European region from January to June – almost double the number of people infected with measles for all of 2017. Last year was a record high for measles cases, with 23,927 people becoming infected in Europe that year, but numbers this year have already exceeded those figures. In 2016 there was a yearly total of 5,273 cases of measles. “The current outbreaks threaten the lives of children and adults, and put the progress that has been made so far at risk,” said Dr. Mark Muscat, technical officer with the vaccine-preventable diseases and immunization program at the WHO’s Regional Office for Europe. “This is an unnecessary and unacceptable tragedy when we have a safe and effective vaccine available to prevent the disease.” Alessandra Tarantino/AP Italian doctor vaccinated a patient against measles. Ukraine was the hardest hit among the 53 European countries covered in the WHO analysis, with more than 23,000 cases so far in 2018. Six other countries in the region – Italy, Greece, Georgia, Russia, Serbia and France – have recorded more than 1,000 infections in adults and children in 2018. Serbia reported 14 deaths related to the disease this year, the highest number of any country included. Thirty-seven people have died across Europe, according to WHO. While 43 of the 53 member states suspended the endemic spread of measles – where the continued transmission of measles persists for more than 12 months – the WHO is still concerned about low immunization coverage in some countries as well as the quality of disease monitoring, factors that interrupt the spread of the disease. “This partial setback demonstrates that every under-immunized person remains vulnerable no matter where they live and every country must keep pushing to increase coverage and close immunity gaps, even after achieving interrupted or eliminated status,” said Dr. Nedret Emiroglu, director of the Division of Health Emergencies and Communicable Diseases at the WHO. Preventing Measles Measles is a highly infectious disease that spreads from person to person by breathing contaminated air or touching an infected surface. Symptoms may begin with a high fever, cough, runny nose or red and watery eyes. After three to five days, a rash will usually appear. Measles can be serious and cause severe complications such as pneumonia or encephalitis. Measles is a significant driver of childhood mortality, causing the deaths of 450 children worldwide each day, according to the WHO. To prevent measles’ outbreaks, it’s necessary to provide at least 95% of the population with immunization to the disease, known as the herd immunity threshold. In Europe, though rates of immunization with two doses of the measles-containing vaccine among children increased in 2017, there are still significant regional differences within countries in terms of coverage. Inter-country variations in rates of immunization – such as in Germany, the UK, Italy, and France – are worrying for experts. “If the coverage dips below [95%] in certain regions, measles cases can spread and outbreaks can and are occurring,” said Dr. Pauline Paterson, co-director of the Vaccine Confidence team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. “While most people vaccinate, some individuals do not. Firstly, we need to identify the susceptible population – who is not vaccinated? If it’s children that are not being vaccinated, then why not?” And where anti-vaccine sentiment has taken root – such as in Italy – measles is generally the first disease to manifest given its contagiousness, according to Heidi Larson, of the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. Italy’s anti-establishment government recently passed a new amendment that suspends a law requiring parents to provide proof that their children received a series of 10 vaccines – including the MMR (measles, mumps, and rubella) vaccine – when enrolling them in nurseries and preschools. “Now, children who are not vaccinated will endanger other children at school who are too small for vaccines or cannot be vaccinated because they suffer from immunosuppressive diseases,” said Dr. Roberto Burioni, a professor of microbiology and virology at San Raffaele University in Milan. France and Romania, along with Italy, are among European countries with the highest anti-vaccine sentiment, where around 20% of the population believes vaccines are unsafe. The infamous Wakefield study pubished in 1998 stated that the MMR vaccine caused autism in children who received the vaccine. The results of the study turned out to be untrue and Andrew Wakefield, one of the authors of the study, had his medical license revoked. Despite the medical fraud, the myth persists, and many vaccine skeptics still believe their children will develop autism if they are immunized. Going Forward Despite the surge, the WHO remains hopeful about stopping the spread of measles, and has vowed to work more closely with European countries to tackle the issue, promising response measures such as enhanced immunization and better monitoring. A large part of any effort to interrupt measles’ spread in Europe should entail understanding why people refuse to get vaccinated, said Paterson. “In 2016 the Vaccine Confidence Project found that the European region was the most skeptical in the world on vaccine safety,” said Paterson. “Vaccines work. If measles is to be eliminated, we must continue to further our understanding of the underlying reasons for non-vaccination and to address them with effective, evidence-based interventions.”<doc-sep>Dr Pauline Paterson from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: "With a vaccine preventable disease, one case is one too many, and the numbers of measles cases so far this year is astounding."<doc-sep>
A Europe-wide measles outbreak blamed for 37 deaths has prompted questions about how families can protect their loved ones. More than 41,000 people have been infected in the first six months of 2018 – 23 per cent higher that any annual total in the last eight years. But experts are united on one simple solution: vaccinations. Since 1968, there has been a safe and effective vaccine available for measles which virtually eliminates the risk of contracting the disease. The current outbreak has hit hardest in countries where vaccination programmes are less robust and far reaching, the World Health Organisation said. Ukraine accounts for 23,000 of the cases this year, but the virus has been able to spread to other countries with more developed health infrastructure and take root in groups who are not protected. “It is appalling that at least 37 people have died in Europe this year from a completely preventable disease and, although no deaths have so far been reported, in England there have been over 800 cases,” said Professor Helen Bedford, from the Great Ormond Street Institute of Child Health. “MMR (Measles, Mumps and Rubella) is a safe, effective and readily available vaccine to prevent this highly infectious disease,” she added. “While overall MMR uptake rates in the UK are generally high among young children, there are still pockets of lower uptake and some young people missed out on their vaccination when they were toddlers.” It is this group of young people, born after 1998, who are of most concern to health chiefs as MMR vaccination rates collapsed in the wake of a retracted and discredited paper in The Lancet medical journal that year linking the three-in-one jab to autism. It’s primary author, former British physician Andrew Wakefield, birthed the modern anti-vaxxer movement and now based in America has a global reach spreading scepticism about one of the most universal goods humanity has produced. Measles, a highly contagious viral infection, is spread by close contact and causes a distinctive rash. Without treatment it can lead to pneumonia, hepatitis, and infections of the brain and eyes which can leave victims blind or cause death. “With a vaccine preventable disease, one case is one too many, and the numbers of measles cases so far this year is astounding,” said Dr Pauline Paterson, co-director of the Vaccine Confidence Project team at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine. ✕ Andrew Wakefield defends his decision to spread his anti-vaccination message in America “Measles is a highly infectious disease that can spread rapidly and lead to serious complications – a very high vaccination coverage of 95 per cent is needed for community protection. If the coverage dips below this in certain regions, measles cases can spread and outbreaks can and are occurring.” A decision not to vaccinate puts everyone at risk, particularly the very young who may not have had both stages of their jab. Outbreaks in the UK have been isolated, usually linked to travel to and from hotspots on the continent. But Public Health England has stressed it is never too late to catch up with a vaccination, and urged teenagers heading to Europe this summer, those about to start university, or anyone with concerns to see their GP and make sure they are fully protected.