Africa-Press – Botswana. The World Health Organization (WHO) warned yesterday of the registration of several measles outbreaks in different parts of the world, which reflect a decline in vaccination coverage against the disease.
According to the WHO, the Covid-19 pandemic is one of the main causes of this situation, but not the only one, as outbreaks are also emerging in fragile countries, affected by armed conflicts or humanitarian crises.
Data from the United Nations Health Agency indicate that in 2021 around 25 million children remained to be vaccinated, implying a 15-year setback in efforts to eradicate measles.
“We are talking about one of the most infectious diseases that exist, in which a patient can infect between 12 and 18 people, which demonstrates the important risk of propagation”, said in a press conference the director of the WHO’s Immunization Department, Kate O’Brien.
According to the official, the number of children to be vaccinated against measles in 2021 is the highest in recent years.
WHO experts said they were concerned that outbreaks have increased in number as well as in size, and could cause the death of children if governments do not carry out urgent vaccination campaigns.
In the last 12 months, WHO has identified outbreaks in 26 countries, mostly in Africa and Asia.
Kate O’Brien also warned of the danger of measles passing from children to teenagers and young adults who have not been vaccinated and have never been exposed to the virus.
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