By Anjali Sharma
UNITED NATIONS – WHO and other UN agencies announced on Thursday that measles cases in Europe have doubled in a year, with the highest number reported since 1997, in 25 years.
Dr. Hans Kluge, the WHO regional director for the European region warned “Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call,”.
A total of 127,350 cases were reported in the region in 2024, double the number of cases reported for 2023 and the highest number since 1997.
According to analysis by WHO and the UNICEF, the most contagious viruses affecting people, measles can damage the immune system by “erasing” its memory of how to fight infections, leaving survivors vulnerable to other diseases.
It said that hospitalization and death caused by complications including pneumonia, encephalitis, diarrhoea and dehydration, measles can also cause long-term, debilitating health complications such as blindness.
According to the WHO, there were 107,500 measles deaths globally in 2023, mostly unvaccinated or under vaccinated children under five.
“Measles remains a significant global threat,” the UN agencies said, pointed to the 359,521 cases reported for 2024 worldwide.
The agency noted the current outbreaks and deaths have been reported worldwide, including in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, the US and countries in every other region.
WHO noted that based on preliminary data received as of 6 March 2025, a total of 38 deaths have been reported for WHO’s European region, which comprises 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia.
The region accounted for one third of all measles cases globally in 2024.
UN agencies pointed to resurgence in 2018 and 2019, with 89,000 and 106,000 cases after a period of decline since 1997, with 216,000 reported cases, that reached a low of 4,440 in 2016.
They said that a backsliding in immunization coverage during the COVID-19 pandemic, cases rose significantly again in 2023 and 2024.
UN agencies added that vaccination rates in many countries are yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, increasing the risk of outbreaks.
They cautioned that transmission of the virus across borders and continents occurs regularly, and outbreaks of this highly infectious disease will occur wherever the virus finds pockets where vaccine levels are insufficient – particularly children.
The children under 5 accounted for over 40 per cent of reported cases in the region, and more than half of all cases required hospitalization.
UNICEF regional director for Europe and Central Asia Regina De Dominicis said that “Measles cases across Europe and Central Asia have soared over the past two years, pointed to gaps in immunization coverage”.
In 2023, 500,000 children across the region missed the first dose of the measles vaccine (MCV1) that should be given through routine immunization services, the agency stated.
She said “To protect children from this deadly and debilitating disease, we need urgent government action including sustained investment in health care workers,”.
Dr. Kluge said “we can’t afford to lose ground” as the agency shapes its regional health strategy to tackle such serious issues.
“Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security,” Dr. Kluge said.
“Every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities. The measles virus never rests and neither can we.”
UN agencies insisted that vaccination is the best line of defence against the virus.
The latest analysis found that Romania reported the highest number of cases 30,692 in the region for 2024, followed by 28,147 in Kazakhstan.
Over less than 80 per cent of eligible children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania were vaccinated with MCV1 in 2023.
Bosnia and Herzegovina and Montenegro, the coverage rate for MCV1 has remained below 70 per cent and 50 per cent respectively for the past five or more years, UNICEF and WHO said.
UN agencies noted that is far below the 95 per cent coverage rate required to retain herd immunity, the UN agencies noted.
UNICEF and WHO are working with governments and health partners, including the European Union and the GAVI Alliance, to prevent and respond to measles outbreaks by engaging with communities.
The efforts include training healthcare workers, strengthening vaccine programmes and disease surveillance systems and initiating measles immunisation catch-up campaigns.
UN agencies have called governments with active outbreaks to immediately intensify case finding, contact tracing and conduct emergency vaccination campaigns.
UN agencies stated “It is imperative that countries analyze the root causes of outbreaks, address weaknesses in their health systems and strategically utilize epidemiological data to identify and close coverage gaps”.
They added that reaching hesitant parents and marginalized communities and tackling inequitable access to vaccines must be central to all efforts, they added.
The agencies also warned that countries that do not have current measles outbreaks should be prepared, including through identifying and addressing gaps in immunity, building and sustaining public trust in vaccines and maintaining strong health systems.
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