Friday April 29, 2022
Reported cases of measles have exploded by nearly 80%
worldwide in the first two months of the year, the World Health Organization
and UNICEF announced Wednesday.
The WHO has been sounding the alarm in recent months about
the risk of "absolute catastrophe" if the dangerous delay in
vaccinating children because of the Covid-19 pandemic is not made up for and if
health restrictions are lifted too quickly.
The result is staggering: the number of cases jumped by 79%
in the first two months of 2022, compared to the same period last year,
according to WHO and Unicef. The two UN agencies now fear that serious
outbreaks of measles, a highly contagious viral disease, could affect
"millions of children" in 2022.
So far, some 17,338 cases of measles have been reported
worldwide in January and February 2022, compared with 9,665 in the first two
months of 2021. But the numbers are likely higher because the pandemic has
disrupted surveillance systems.
The best protection against measles, which gets its name
from the characteristic red patches all over the body, is very high vaccination
coverage.
There have been 21 major measles outbreaks in the past 12
months (through April), mostly in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean region.
The countries with the largest measles outbreaks since last
year are Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
Because measles is highly contagious, cases tend to appear
when vaccination levels drop. Both UN agencies are concerned that measles
outbreaks are a harbinger of outbreaks of other diseases that spread more
slowly.
"Resurgence of
deadly diseases"
"Measles is more than a dangerous and potentially
deadly disease. It is also one of the first signs that there are gaps in global
immunization coverage," said Unicef Executive Director Catherine Russell.
According to WHO and UNICEF, too many children have missed
out on measles vaccines due in part to health system disruptions related to the
Covid-19 pandemic.
In 2020, 23 million children worldwide did not receive basic
childhood vaccines through routine health services, the highest number since
2009 and 3.7 million more than in 2019, according to WHO and Unicef.
"The Covid-19 pandemic disrupted immunization services,
health systems were overwhelmed, and we are now seeing a resurgence of deadly
diseases, including measles. For many other diseases, the impact of these
disruptions in immunization services will be felt for decades," warned WHO
head Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.
"Now is the time to get essential immunization programs
back on track and launch catch-up campaigns so that everyone can have access to
these life-saving vaccines," he urged.
The risk of major outbreaks increases as countries relax
preventive measures taken to control Covid-19, such as adherence to physical
distancing.
"It is encouraging that people in many communities are
beginning to feel protected enough from Covid-19 to resume more social
activities. But doing so in places where children are not receiving routine
vaccinations creates the perfect conditions for a disease like measles to
spread," Russell warned.
The displacement of millions of people due to conflicts and
crises in Ukraine, Ethiopia, Somalia and Afghanistan, among others, also
increases the risk of outbreaks among already weakened populations.