Experts have warned brits to take cautions as cases of a highly contagious respiratory virus have skyrocketed across Europe and Asia – 40% of those effect are children under five
Brits are being warned of a highly contagious virus sweeping across Europe. Worrying figures show the deadly virus is hospitalising ‘one in five children’ affected.
The World Health Organization and Unicef have reported a massive 127,350 measles cases across Europe and Central Asia in 2024 alone. The cases have doubled since the previous year and reaches heights not seen since 1997.
Measles is one of the world’s most diseases globally, spreading through the air and hitting the lungs. Symptoms of the respiratory virus include fever, cough, a runny nose, and rashes.
Severe cases of the virus can lead to symptoms of pneumonia, encephalitis (brain swelling), dehydration and even blindness.
Unicef has pointed out that 40% of measles infections in Europe occur in children under the age of five. Despites these shocking numbers protection against the infection is incredibly effective. Two doses of the measles vaccine provides a 97% effectiveness against the disease.
Dr Han Kluge, WHO’s Europe director, has noted: “Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call.” The director added: “Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.”
Experts have calculated in order to effectively prevent outbreaks over 95% of the population needs to be immunised against the disease.
Due to the fall of immunisation coverage during the Covid-19 pandemic, there has been a significant increase in measles cases in 2023 and 2024. UK officials reported last month there were 200 cases of measles in Britain and more are expected to come.
Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive the British Society for Immunology, has called for concern: “It is extremely worrying to see such high numbers of measles cases across the European Region. Measles is a very nasty disease that causes serious illness, including hospitalisation and, in extreme situations, death. In recent outbreaks in England, one in five children who caught measles were hospitalised.”
“We have long known that vaccine uptake rates for the MMR vaccine in both the UK and Europe are lower than this required level. For example, in England in 2023-24, only 83.9 per cent of children had received both doses of the MMR vaccine by the required timepoint.”
Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine has expressed his concern at the current spread of the virus across the UK.
The doc drew parallels at cases across the UK mirroring trends seen in other parts of the world including Europe, Central Asia, and the US. He noted: “Measles cases across the UK are rising, as we’re also seeing across other parts of Europe, Central Asia and through new outbreaks in the US. Measles is extremely infectious.”
The doctor affirmed: “Being vaccinated is the best way to protect you, your child, your family and people who aren’t able to get the vaccine like young babies, from getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people. It’s never too late to get vaccinated.”