WHO: 'Dramatic resurgence' in measles case in Europe

[nitpicker]

https://www.dw.com/en/who-dramatic-resurgence-in-measles-case-in-europe/a-50206759

WHO: 'Dramatic resurgence' in measles case in Europe

Date 29.08.2019

There has been a "dramatic resurgence" in measles cases in Europe, the World Health Organization said Thursday, urging countries to increase vaccination efforts and counter misinformation about the safety of vaccines. The WHO said there were nearly 90,000 cases of the highly contagious disease in 48 European countries in the first six months of 2019, almost double the number of cases reported for all of 2018.

Just four countries — Ukraine, Kazakhstan, Georgia and Russia — accounted for 78% of cases in the first half of 2019, with 60% in Ukraine alone.

Based on 2018 data, four countries — Albania, Britain, the Czech Republic and Greece — lost their "measles-free" status, defined as going 12 months without any cases. Measles is considered endemic in 12 countries, including France and Germany.
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The WHO attributes the rise in measles cases to lack of access to quality healthcare and misinformation about the safety of vaccines. Experts say the disease is often spread among school-age children whose parents refuse to give their children the combined MMR vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella.
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Globally, the number of cases this year tripled to 364,808 compared to the first seven months last year, although the WHO cautioned that nine in 10 cases are believed to go unrecorded. The WHO said in reality there were about 6.7 million suspected cases worldwide.
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