Sick child with red rash spots due to measles.
Measles is on the rise around the world, with approximately 10.3 million cases reported last year.
That’s a 20% increase from 2022, according to the World Health Organization, which blames the growth in numbers on inadequate vaccination coverage.
Measles is highly contagious and potentially fatal. Young children are especially vulnerable to the disease. An estimated 107,500 people were killed in 2023, most of whom were under the age of five. This is an increase of approximately 8% compared to the previous year.
Countries need almost all children (95%) to receive two measles vaccinations to prevent outbreaks of the disease and keep the population safe, the WHO says.
Last year, only 74% had received both recommended doses, while 87% had received one.
“The measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years,” said WHO Director-General Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. said in a statement. “To save even more lives and prevent this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunization for everyone, wherever they live.”
Signs and symptoms of measles
Measles is transmitted through the air and spreads when infected people cough, sneeze and breathe. It causes symptoms such as high fever, coughing, a runny nose and a noticeable rash that can appear all over the body.
It can lead to serious complications, including blindness, swelling of the brain, ear infections, severe diarrhea and pneumonia.
Vaccines train the body to respond to the virus that causes measles, making it harder to catch the disease.
There is no established treatment for measles. But health care providers can help a sick patient by putting him at ease and helping to relieve his symptoms, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Measles is relatively rare in the US. Only 59 cases were recorded nationally in 2023, largely due to lengthy childhood vaccination programs.
Nevertheless, outbreaks continue to affect the country. This year, 277 cases have been recorded so far, according to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
Intake of vaccines
Vaccine skepticism is often blamed for rising measles rates. The triple measles, mumps and rubella vaccines that protect against the disease have long been the subject of controversy, despite scientific evidence showing they are safe and effective.
A fraudulent article in a medical journal The Lancet did a lot about it raises suspicions of the recordings in the 1990s and early 2000s. British former doctor Andrew Wakefield – who was later stripped of the title – published falsified research that appeared to show a link between the MMR recordings and autism.
In reality, no such connection has been found. In 2010, The Lancet withdrew the paper.
But the autism rumor is still well spread. It took root in the US, where Wakefield moved.
President-elect Donald Trump’s choice to lead the Department of Health and Human Services, Robert F Kennedy Jr., has has long promoted this position that vaccines cause autism.
He is currently on leave from the position of chairman of an anti-vaccine activist organization called the “Children’s Health Defense,” which is known for spreading disinformation about health issues, including measles vaccination, on social media.