In the last week, March 4-10, 777 new cases of measles were registered, INSP announces.
Almost 800 new cases of measles last week – Photo Archive
Data from the National Institute of Public Health show that, between January 1, 2023 and March 10, 2024, 8,020 cases of measles were confirmed. In total, eight deaths due to measles were recorded during the reporting period.
The disease is present in 40 counties and in Bucharest. The most illnesses were registered in the counties of Brasov – 1,384, Mureş – 1,005 and Bucharest – 1,004, according to Agerpres. Between December 6, 2023 and March 10, 2024, according to data extracted from the RENV, 93,488 doses of MMR vaccine were used, of which 15,056 doses were used for children aged between 9 and 11 months.
Last year, 306,000 measles cases were reported worldwide, a 79 percent increase in one year, according to the World Health Organization.
Commonly known as measles, measles is a highly contagious disease and is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide. The disease is transmitted through coughing or sneezing.
“People not immunized by vaccination or disease have almost no chance of escaping uninfected if they come into contact with the measles virus, as it has a 95% contagiousness infecting susceptibles regardless of age“, previously explained doctor Emilian Popovici, vice-president of the Romanian Society of Epidemiology.
Complications of the disease cause a mortality between 1 and 3 per thousand cases, especially among children under 5 years of age.
The surest way to protect ourselves from measles is vaccination. The first dose of MMR vaccine, given at 12 months of age, provides 95% protection against measles, and the second dose, given between 5 and 7 years of age, provides 99.7% protection against measles.
