Measles cases worldwide jumped about 300% in the first three months of the year, compared to the same period last year, the WHO said Monday, noting that in Africa the increase was the 700% mark. Until 2016, however, the disease was decreasing.
Africa, the most affected region
"To date, 170 countries have reported 112,163 measles cases to WHO in 2019. Last year, 28,124 measles cases were reported in 163 countries, an increase of almost 300%. on a global scale, "said the UN specialized agency in a statement, saying it was provisional figures and therefore still incomplete. WHO estimates that less than one in ten cases are reported worldwide.
Africa is the region most affected by the outbreak, with an increase of 700% in the first three months of the year (compared to the year), followed by Europe (+ 300%), the Mediterranean Eastern Europe (+ 100%), the Americas (+ 60%) and the South East Asia / Western Pacific region (+ 40%).
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According to the WHO, outbreaks of measles are occurring in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Burma, the Philippines, Sudan, Thailand and Ukraine, "causing widespread deaths, mainly among young children ". "In recent months, the number of cases has also peaked in countries with high overall immunization coverage, particularly in the United States, Israel, Thailand and Tunisia, as the disease has spread groups of unvaccinated people, "explained WHO.
In 2017, 110,000 deaths attributable to measles were recorded, according to WHO.
No cure but a vaccine
Measles is one of the most contagious diseases in the world for which there is no curative treatment, but it can be prevented by two doses of a "safe and effective" vaccine, according to WHO.
Measles is resurging all over the world because of mistrust of vaccines in rich countries or poor access to care in poor countries. The "anti-vax" is based on a 1998 publication linking this vaccine and autism. However, it was established that its author, the British Andrew Wakefield, had falsified his results, and several studies have since shown that the vaccine does not increase the risk of autism.
The disease is manifested by a high fever and then a plaque eruption. It is contagious four days before and after this eruption. Often benign, however, it can cause serious complications, respiratory (pulmonary infections) and neurological (encephalitis), especially in fragile people.
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The global health authorities stress the importance of the vaccine, individually but also collectively: high immunization coverage (95% of the population) protects people who can not themselves be vaccinated, especially because their immune system is weakened. However, this overall coverage rate (for the first dose of vaccine) stagnated for several years to 85% according to WHO.