• Unicef ​​alarm on measles: 169 million unvaccinated children in the world
  • Madagascar, 1200 dead from October due to measles epidemic. Only 58% of the population is vaccinated

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August 13, 2019. Measles is rapidly growing worldwide. The number of cases this year has tripled compared to the same period last year and the alert also concerns Europe and the USA. "There are millions of people at global level at risk - warns the WHO - and in the first six months of 2019, the cases reported are the highest ever since 2006, with outbreaks that severely test health systems and cause serious diseases , disabilities and deaths in many parts of the world.

So far in 2019, compared to the same period last year, the number of reported cases has tripled ". Even the Western world is affected." The United States - the World Health Organization adds - reported the highest number of cases of measles of the last 25 years. In the WHO European region, almost 90 thousand cases were registered in the first six months of this year, a figure that exceeds those recorded for the whole 2018 (84.462), the year already the highest in the current decade ".

According to the latest WHO recommendations, "all subjects over 6 months of life must be protected from measles before going to an area where the virus is circulating". Anyone who is not sure of their vaccination status "should consult their doctor. Travelers - concludes the WHO - must be vaccinated at least 15 days before departure".

The WHO urges all governments to guarantee immunizations against measles: two doses are necessary to protect themselves from the disease.

This year, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Ukraine have recorded the greatest number of cases but the cases have decreased dramatically in Madagascar in recent months following emergency vaccination campaigns at national level, thus demonstrating the effectiveness of vaccination in ending epidemics and protecting health. Large outbreaks are under way in Angola, Cameroon, Chad, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan and Thailand.

According to the WHO, "the reasons why people do not get vaccinated vary a lot: the lack of access to quality health services, the presence of conflicts and wars". Not only that, there is also misinformation and a lack of awareness of the need to be vaccinated that play a fundamental role. In several countries, measles is spreading among older children, young people and adults who have not been vaccinated in the past ".