Warning of measles, polio resurgence

The world is facing a new threat from measles, with a near doubling of cases in the wake of the pandemic, world agencies have warned.

The World Health Organization and UNICEF, the United Nations children’s fund, warned of the risk of even greater outbreaks of the disease.

They said that in January and February the world reported 79% more cases of measles than a year earlier, representing 17,338 cases.

This followed millions of children missing their routine childhood vaccinations in 2020 because of the COVID pandemic. The figure of 23 million was the largest since 2009.

In the last year there have been 21 large outbreaks globally, with most of them being in Africa and the Eastern Mediterranean and in countries such as Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia, where warfare and the pandemic have disrupted health services.

WHO director-general Dr Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus said: “The COVID-19 pandemic has interrupted immunisation services, health systems have been overwhelmed, and we are now seeing a resurgence of deadly diseases including measles. For many other diseases, the impact of these disruptions to immunisation services will be felt for decades to come.

“Now is the moment to get essential immunisation back on track and launch catch-up campaigns so that everybody can have access to these life-saving vaccines.”

WHO in Europe added a warning about the risk of outbreaks among the thousands of children displaced by the Russian invasion of Ukraine.

WHO Ukraine representative Dr Jarno Habicht said: “Vaccination drives among school-age children initiated with WHO support to the Ministry of Health in 2019 were interrupted by the COVID-19 pandemic.

“Now the ongoing war is greatly increasing the risk of a measles outbreak, with so many families displaced and staying in crowded, temporary accommodation, and many others unable to access healthcare services.”

WHO warned that two Ukrainian children have also now tested positive for polio after developing acute flaccid paralysis. The virus has been found in 19 contacts.

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