Measles is a disease that most people in first-world countries have heard of, but very few have actually gotten or even seen in person. For adults with a healthy immune system, measles is a somewhat mild illness with a high fever, cough, runny nose, watery eyes, and a rash.
For young children or adults with a compromised immune system, however, serious complications or even death can result from the infection.
Fortunately, a vaccine was developed in the 50’s and rolled out to billions of people in the 60’s. The vast majority of infants are vaccinated with two doses, which provides essentially 100% protection against the virus. For decades now, measles has been part of one of the most common vaccinations in the world, commonly known as the MMR vaccine. This offered protection from measles, mumps, and rubella.
Unfortunately, the number of cases of measles has been going up quite rapidly according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO).
They found that in the past year, about 10.3 million cases of measles were reported. This is a 20% increase from the previous year.
Since measles is extremely contagious, this is very concerning. While most people are protected from the disease thanks to the vaccine, there are some people who cannot receive the vaccine for various reasons, and this puts them at serious risk.
In the report, the WHO found that about 22 million children around the world did not receive this vaccine at all. In addition, while 83% of kids had their first dose, only 74% had their second, which leaves them vulnerable.
Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus is the WHO Director General. He put out a statement concerning this report, in which he said:
“Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years. To save even more lives and stop this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunization for every person, no matter where they live. The number of measles infections are rising around the globe, endangering lives and health. The measles vaccine is our best protection against the virus, and we must continue to invest in efforts to increase access.”
This most recent outbreak, caused largely by gaps in people getting the vaccination, was spread out across every region of the world except the Americas. 57 countries had increased outbreaks compared to years past.
Most tragically, the recent surge in measles cases has resulted in the deaths of about 107,500 people, most of whom were under the age of five, in the past year. These were almost entirely preventable deaths had they received both doses of the vaccine.
The WHO is continuing to encourage parents around the world to get their children vaccinated. There are many programs out there to bring the vaccine to all countries so parents can get their children vaccinated without any cost.
It is heartbreaking that this preventable disease is still killing to many.
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