Deaths from measles are increasing worldwide – WHO

The number of measles infection cases is increasing worldwide. At the same time, vaccination against the disease is falling. The World Health Organization reported this on Saturday, November 18.

As experts note, the number of deaths from infection in 2022 has increased by 43% compared to 2021. The total number of people with the disease is estimated at 9 million people, and the deaths are at 136 thousand WHO emphasizes that most of them are children.

“The threat of measles to children continues to grow. In 2022, large-scale and severe outbreaks of the disease were recorded in 37 countries, compared to 22 countries in 2021,” WHO said.

At the same time, the organization said that this situation was predicted, because in recent years there has been a decrease in the level of vaccination.

“In 2022, compared to 2021, vaccination coverage increased slightly worldwide, but the number of children who missed a dose of the vaccine was 33 million, of which almost 22 million missed the first dose, and one another 11 million did not get the second,” – indicate the organization’s experts.

According to the WHO, the infection is actively spreading in low-income countries.

“More than half of the 22 million children who did not get the first dose of the cow vaccine in 2022 live in just 10 countries – Angola, Brazil, Democratic Republic of Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan,” go to the reported organizations.

The WHO says there is a risk of dengue fever spreading rapidly in the US, southern Europe and Africa this decade.

The WHO Regional Office for Europe has declared the polio outbreak in Ukraine, discovered in October 2021, officially over.