WHO report shows significant rise in measles in Europe

The World Health Organization (WHO) has announced new public health data showing a significant rebound in cases of measles in Europe during 2017.

In the last year, a total of 21,315 people were affected by measles, resulting in 35 deaths. This represents a fourfold increase from the 2016 figure, which reached an annual record low of only 5,273 cases.

This surge in cases coincided with large outbreaks of the disease in 15 of the 53 countries in the European region, with the highest numbers of affected people reported in Romania, Italy and Ukraine, due to declining immunisation coverage, underprotection of marginalised groups, interruptions in vaccine supply or underperforming disease surveillance systems.

As such, the WHO has called for European nations to take renewed action to tackle measles, including raising public awareness, immunising healthcare professionals and at-risk populations, addressing challenges in access, and improving supply planning and logistics.

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, said: "Elimination of both measles and rubella is a priority goal that all European countries have firmly committed to, and a cornerstone for achieving the health-related sustainable development goals."

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