ESTIMATED cases of one of the world's most infectious diseases rocketed by 20 per cent across the globe in just a year, a chilling report warns. Children under the age of five are most vulnerable to measles , the World Health Organization (WHO) said. Dr Natasha Crowcroft, senior technical advisor for measles and rubella at WHO, claimed there had been more than 200 per cent increase, as reported by Euronews .
Measles is highly contagious, as it spreads easily when an infected person breathes, coughs or sneezes. It tends to infect the respiratory tract before spreading throughout the body, causing a high temperature, cough , runny nose and telltale rash . In rare cases, measles can result in serious complications such as blindness, brain swelling and pneumonia , which can prove fatal.
Read more on measles Getting vaccinated is the best protection from getting measles and spreading the virus to others. But waning vaccination rates across the world are fuelling an increase in measles cases, health chiefs warned. A joint report by WHO and the Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said an estimated 10.
3 million cases of measles had been reported worldwide in 2023 - marking a 20 per cent increase from 2022. As a result of global gaps in vaccination coverage, 57 countries suffered large or disruptive measles outbreaks in 2023. Most read in Health This is a nearly 60 per cent increase from the measles outbreaks seen in 36 countries the previous year.
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