Measles cases decreased in 2020 around the world, but efforts to combat the Covid-19 pandemic have disrupted vaccination and prevention campaigns, the WHO and US health authorities warned Thursday, November 12.
Read also: Measles, much older than we thought
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In November, more than 94 million people were at risk of not being vaccinated as planned due to the interruption of measles control campaigns in 26 countries,
" note the World Health Organization and Federal Control Centers and Disease Prevention (CDC) of the United States.
“
Many of these countries are currently experiencing disease outbreaks.
Among the countries that postponed the campaigns planned for 2020, only eight (Brazil, Ethiopia, Nepal, Nigeria, Philippines, Central African Republic, Democratic Republic of Congo and Somalia) have resumed their campaign after an initial delay
”, further notes this document.
“
Before there was a coronavirus crisis, the world was in the grip of a measles crisis, which has not gone away,
” said Henrietta Fore, Executive Director of UNICEF.
In fact, measles killed 207,500 people worldwide last year, a figure up 50% from 2016.
Measles had progressed in all regions, with major epidemics reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar, Ukraine, the Samoa Islands and Brazil.
In total, nearly 870,000 cases of measles were reported in 2019, the highest figure on record since 2016.
For WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, "
these data clearly show that we are failing to protect children against measles in all regions of the world
".
And yet, he said in a statement, "
we know how to prevent measles outbreaks and deaths
."
Measles, characterized by the rash of red spots on the skin, is caused by a virus that is spread very easily through direct contact or in the air.
Most of the deaths are due to complications of the disease.
Among the most serious complications, the WHO cites blindness, encephalitis (which may be accompanied by brain edema), severe diarrhea, ear infections and serious respiratory infections such as pneumonia.
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