Africa is particularly affected by the explosion of measles cases due to the delay in vaccination of children, with an increase of 400% for the first three months of 2022 compared to the same period of 2021, announced Thursday 28 April the WHO regional office.
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From January to March, nearly 17,500 cases of this highly contagious viral disease were recorded on the continent, where twenty countries reported measles epidemics, eight more than during the first three months of 2021, specifies the Africa office of the World Health Organization in a press release.
On Wednesday, the WHO and the United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) announced in Geneva that reported cases of measles had jumped 79% worldwide during the first two months of the year compared with the same last year period.
Most outbreaks have been reported in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region, the two UN organizations said.
Polio outbreaks and fever and yellow
According to WHO Africa, other vaccine-preventable diseases are also on the rise.
Twenty-four African countries confirmed outbreaks of a polio variant in 2021, four more than in 2020. Thirteen reported outbreaks of yellow fever, up from nine in 2020 and three in 2019.
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The Covid-19 pandemic, which has overwhelmed health systems, has “
disrupted routine immunization services in many African countries and forced the suspension of vaccination campaigns
”, explains WHO-Africa.
Africa is fighting against Covid-19 “
but we must not forget the other threats to health
”, underlined during an online briefing Dr. Matshidiso Moeti, Africa director of the WHO, quoted in the press release.
