On Monday, the 22nd of April, European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) officials revealed new data confirming the upward trend in measles and whooping cough cases observed last year, putting young children at greatest risk at a time when vaccination rates are falling, reports Poiltico.
Between March 2023 and the end of February 2024, at least five people died of measles in EU countries, all in Romania, while data show that the incidence of whooping cough increased more than tenfold in the EU in 2023 and 2024 compared to the previous two years.
Infants under 12 months are most at risk
since several EU countries vaccinate children against measles from the age of one, relying on herd immunity. In Romania, where there was a severe measles outbreak, only 71% of the population had received a second dose of measles vaccine.
ECDC Director Andrea Ammon expressed concern that, despite decades of evidence of vaccine safety and effectiveness, outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases continue to occur.
Both whooping cough and measles are easily spread and high vaccination rates are needed to prevent outbreaks. For measles, the optimal vaccination rate is at least 95% of the population.
But according to the latest World Health Organisation (WHO) data, in 2022 only four EU countries – Hungary, Malta, Portugal and Slovakia – reported that 95% of the population had received both doses of measles vaccine.
Several European countries, such as Austria, Denmark and Norway, have vaccination rates close to the target,
while other countries, such as Estonia, Iceland and Romania, have seen a decline in measles second dose vaccination rates in recent years, for example in Estonia, vaccination rates decreased by 20% between 2018 and 2022.
Romania has experienced significant measles outbreaks, with 4 594 cases recorded between March 2023 and February 2024, representing almost 80% of the total number of measles cases in the EU during this period.
Despite progress in containing the measles epidemic in Romania, where cases fell sharply in February following WHO calls for urgent vaccination, cases have increased in many other EU countries.
Sabrina Bacci from ECDC was quoted as saying at a press briefing on Monday: “Measles vaccines are among the most effective, safe and affordable vaccines we have…
measles is a disease that we can really control with high vaccination rates.”
Bacci also expressed concern about the rising number of whooping cough cases, attributing this to low vaccination rates and a decline in confidence in routine vaccination caused by anti-vaccine sentiment during the Covid-19 pandemic.
Also read: Measles in Europe: WHO calls for urgent vaccination as cases soar
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