Already 94,481 cases

Many measles cases expected globally in 2024 too

(Bild: stock.adobe.com)

The number of confirmed measles infections around the world is likely to remain high this year. By the beginning of April, 94,481 cases had already been registered.

In 2023, a good 320,000 people were confirmed to have contracted measles. This corresponds to an increase of around 88 percent compared to the previous year.

However, the vast majority of measles cases do not even appear in the statistics. The number of documented cases for 2022 is 171,153, but the estimated number of cases is nine million. According to estimates by the World Health Organization, 136,000 people died from measles that year, mostly children under the age of five.

45 percent of cases in Europe
Of the cases registered worldwide this year, 45 percent were in the WHO region of Europe. The highest number of cases per capita was recorded in Azerbaijan, Kyrgyzstan and Kazakhstan. The WHO Europe region also includes countries such as Israel and Turkey as well as Central Asian countries. Yemen has the highest measles rate in the world.

About measles

Measles is a life-threatening, viral infectious disease that can be prevented by vaccination. Overall, the number of reported infections fluctuates significantly from year to year. In 2019, for example, there were more than half a million, in the second year of the pandemic in 2021 only around 60,000.

According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), 162 cases had been reported in Germany by April 21. By comparison, there were only ten cases in the same period last year.

Urgent call for vaccination
The number of outbreaks is increasing worldwide due to insufficient vaccination rates in the population. It is recommended that at least 95% of the population receive two doses of vaccine. Currently, global rates are only 83 percent for the first dose and only 74 percent for the second dose.

The aim is actually to eradicate measles
According to the RKI, it is one of the most infectious diseases in humans. It is transmitted via droplets and aerosols, for example when speaking, coughing and sneezing. The reddish-brown rash, which is considered characteristic of measles, only appears in the second phase of the disease. Prior to this, those affected usually have symptoms such as fever, cough, runny nose, sore throat and headache. Once you have had the disease, you are usually immune for life.