Recently, the World Health Organisation warned that more than half of the world is at risk of contracting measles infection.
Measles are rashes that are caused due to contracting a viral infection. It is highly contagious disease that spreads via droplets in air, poor hygiene etc. It mostly affects children and leads to uncomfortable pain, swelling, inflammation in the eyes etc. Madhya Pradesh had reported death of two children due to measles and nearly 17 others were infected in a village in MP leading to shutting down of schools. Recently, the World Health Organisation (WHO) also issued a warning against this fatal disease.
“More than half the world’s countries will be at high or very high risk of measles outbreaks by the end of the year unless urgent preventative measures are taken. Measles cases have been increasing across most regions mainly due to missed vaccinations during the COVID-19 years when health systems were overwhelmed and fell behind on routine vaccinations for preventable diseases,” reported Reuters.
“We can see, from data that’s produced with WHO data by the CDC (U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention), that more than half of all the countries in the world are going to be at high or very high risk of outbreaks by the end of this year,” WHO’s Natasha Crowcroft, a Senior Technical Adviser on Measles and Rubella, told a Geneva press briefing.
Measles is a highly contagious, airborne virus that mostly affects children under five years old. It can be prevented by two doses of vaccine and more than 50 million deaths have been averted since 2000, according to the WHO. Cases last year were already up 79% to over 300,000, according to WHO data, – thought to represent just a fraction of the total.
Who is More at Risk of Measles?
Unvaccinated children are at the most vulnerable population who may contract the viral infection anytime. The gas in immunisation especially in rural and remote areas may jump manifolds as per WHO. Also, people who were not vaccinated may also contract the virus.
More than 30,000 measles cases were reported by 40 of the WHO European region’s 53 member states between January and October in 2023, compared to 941 cases in 2022, a 30-fold rise, the Euronews reported. “With vaccine uptake in some communities so low, there is now a very real risk of seeing the virus spread in other towns and cities,” said Jenny Harries, chief executive of the UKHSA.
Measles is a highly contagious viral illness that spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes, according to the WHO, and “can cause severe disease, complications, and even death”.
Measles symptoms
Symptoms may include:
- High fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Rashes
- Fatigue
- Eye Pain
Therefore, adhering to proper vaccinate doses for all disease, proper nourishment and good health hygiene is important for avoiding contracting this deadly virus.