Measles is spreading rapidly around the world and the World Health Organization is concerned as 306,000 cases of measles were reported last year, a 79% increase in one year.
WHO: Measles cases to increase by 79% in 2023 – Photo Shuterstock
The number of measles cases has increased by 79% worldwide in the last year, WHO warns.
“We also expect an increase in the number of deaths in 2023”, but the data will only be available in November, said Natasha Crowcroft, technical adviser for measles and rubella at the WHO, during a press conference, reports AFP.
In our country, 650 cases were registered last week alone. According to the most recent report of the National Institute of Public Health (INSP), up to this date, 5,888 confirmed cases of measles have been notified in Romania, of which 6 deaths. The disease is found in 40 counties of the country and in the City of Bucharest.
Brașov remains the county with the most cases of measles, with almost 20% of the illnesses recorded so far at the national level.
Commonly known as measles, measles is a highly contagious disease and is one of the leading causes of death among children worldwide.
It is spread by sneezing or coughing and has “a contagiousness of 95%, infecting the receptive regardless of age“, warns 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.
In the period 06.12.2023-18.02.2024, according to the data extracted from the RENV, a total of 72,564 children were vaccinated with ROR, of which 11,851 children aged between 9 and 11 months, according to the INSP.
