According to the WHO, being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles and spreading it to other people. Its vaccine is safe and can help your body fight the virus.
The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that more than half of the world will be at a ‘high or very high risk’ of measles outbreaks by the end of 2024. According to reports, Natasha Crowcroft, a senior technical adviser on measles and rubella with the WHO said during a press briefing in Geneva last week: “What we are worried about is this year, 2024, we have got these big gaps in our immunization programs, and if we don’t fill them really quickly with the vaccine, measles will just jump into that gap.” WHO said that cases of measles, also known as ‘rubeola’, have been increasing in the world because of a high amount of vaccinations missed during the Covid-19 pandemic. “We can see from data that is produced with WHO data by the CDC (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,” Crowcroft added.
What Is Measles?
According to the WHO, measles is a highly contagious disease that is caused by a virus. It spreads when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes, and can cause severe complications and even death. While it can affect anyone, it is most common in children.
What Are The Symptoms Of Measles?
Measles infects the respiratory tract and spreads throughout the body. Symptoms include:
- A high fever
- Cough
- Runny nose
- Red and watery eyes
- Rashes all over the body
- Small white spots inside the cheeks
Measles Prevention
According to the WHO, being vaccinated is the best way to prevent getting sick with measles and spreading it to other people. Its vaccine is safe and can help your body fight the virus. The global body stated that before the introduction of the measles vaccine in 1963, major epidemics occurred approximately every two to three years, and caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. In fact, an estimated 1,28,000 people died from measles in 2021 — at the peak of the pandemic — who were mostly children under the age of five years. This happened despite the availability of a safe and cost-effective vaccine.
How COVID-19 affected measles immunization
WHO stated that the pandemic led to ‘setbacks in surveillance and immunization efforts’, leaving ‘millions of children vulnerable’.
Measles Complication
Most deaths from measles are from complications related to the disease, which can include:
- Blindness
- Encephalitis (infection causing brain swelling and brain damage)
- Severe diarrhoea and related dehydration
- Ear infections
- Severe breathing problems including pneumonia
- In pregnant women, the virus can be dangerous for the mother and result in her baby being born prematurely with a
- low birth weight, warned WHO.
Crowcroft said that last year, more than 3,00,000 cases were reported worldwide, a substantial increase of 79 per cent from 2022.
Rohit Malhotra is a medical expert and health journalist who offers evidence-based advice on fitness, nutrition, and mental well-being. His articles aim to help readers lead healthier lives.
