Washington, United States (AFP) A record high of nearly 40 million children around the world missed a measles vaccine dose in 2021, according to a new report Wednesday that found immunization levels had failed to rebound from disruptions caused by the Covid-19 pandemic. The research, which was jointly published by the World Health Organization (WHO) and the United States Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) said the decline was a major setback in eliminating […]
Tag: measles
DOH continues measles, polio vaccine campaign; urges parents to have kids immunized
(Eagle News) — Starting today, Monday, Feb. 1 until Feb. 28, the Department of Health will hold the second phase of its Measles Rubella and Oral Polio Vaccine Supplemental Immunization Activity (MR-OPV SIA) amid the ongoing COVID-19 pademic and polio outbreak. The Phase 2 of the vaccination campaign will be done in the Visayas Regions, National Capital Region, Central Luzon and CALABARZON and aims to immunize close to 10 million children. “The Phase 2 […]
DR Congo declares end to deadly measles epidemic
KINSHASA, DR Congo (AFP) — The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) on Tuesday declared the end of a 25-month outbreak of measles that claimed the lives of more than 7,000 children aged under five. The outbreak was countered by vaccination on a massive scale, in which millions of children and infants were immunized. “For the past month, we are able to say that this epidemic has been eliminated from across our territory,” Health Minister Eteni […]
Measles killed more than 140,000 amid stagnating vaccine rates
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than 140,000 people died from measles worldwide in 2018, the World Health Organization (WHO) and US authorities said Thursday, the result of global vaccination rates that have stagnated for almost a decade. Poorer countries were hardest hit, with the vast majority of measles cases and deaths in sub-Saharan Africa. Wealthier countries, however, have also been battling their own outbreaks, with four European nations losing their “eliminated” status in 2018. […]
Samoa’s measles death toll rises to 20
WELLINGTON, New Zealand (AFP) — The death toll from a measles epidemic in Samoa has risen to 20 as the outbreak rages out of control, with hundreds of new cases emerging daily, official data released Friday showed. The government said there were 1,644 cases, with 202 diagnosed since Thursday, most affecting young children. It said the number of deaths had hit 20, including 19 children aged under four years old. An additional 11 children are […]
US measles cases exceed 1,200 but elimination status maintained
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — More than 1,200 people have been sickened with measles this year, the highest number since 1992, US health authorities said Friday, though the infectious childhood disease officially remains “eliminated” after the worst-hit region contained its outbreak. New York health officials Thursday declared the end of the state’s nearly year-long epidemic, which accounted for 75 percent of cases nationwide, and occurred mostly among unvaccinated children in Orthodox Jewish communities. Before the […]
Global measles cases triple year-on-year: WHO
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Measles cases nearly tripled globally during the first seven months of the year compared to the same period in 2018, the World Health Organization said Tuesday, amid growing concern over public resistance to the vaccine. So far this year, 364,808 measles cases were reported around the world, compared to 129,239 cases during the first seven months a year earlier. These numbers are “the highest (registered) since 2006,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier […]
Germany makes measles vaccination compulsory for children
BERLIN, Germany (AFP) — Germany will make childhood measles vaccinations mandatory from March 2020, aiming to wipe out the resurgent and potentially deadly disease, Chancellor Angela Merkel’s cabinet decided Wednesday. Children will only be admitted to kindergarten or school if they have had the jabs, and vaccinations will also be compulsory for staff in day-care centres, educational institutions, medical facilities and refugee shelters. “We want to protect as many children as possible from a measles […]
Number of measles cases in US this year surpasses 1,000
WASHINGTON, United States (AFP) — The number of measles cases in the United States this year has reached 1,001, health officials said Wednesday, as they vowed to stop the spread of misinformation about vaccines. The announcement comes days after authorities declared the US was in danger of losing its “elimination status” on the contagious respiratory disease if the current outbreaks continue. “The 1,000th case of a preventable disease like measles is a troubling reminder […]
Two die from measles in Switzerland as cases rise
GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — Switzerland has registered two deaths from measles this year, health authorities said Thursday, stressing the importance of vaccinating against the highly contagious disease. The health ministry warned that the number of measles cases was on the rise this year, with 155 people infected, including two who had died. A man in his thirties, who had never been vaccinated against the disease, died after being infected by a family member, it said. […]
US records 695 measles cases, most since 2000
NEW YORK, United States (AFP) –The United States recorded 695 cases of measles in 2019, the most of any year since the disease was declared eliminated in 2000, health authorities said Wednesday. “The high number of cases in 2019 is primarily the result of a few large outbreaks — one in Washington State and two large outbreaks in New York that started in late 2018,” the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said in a […]
Australia ramps up measles warnings as cases jump
SYDNEY, Australia (AFP) — Australia on Monday launched a major education campaign to encourage its residents, particularly those traveling overseas, to get vaccinated against measles as a sudden spike in cases amid a global resurgence causes alarm. Measles — an airborne infection causing fever, coughing and rashes that can be deadly in rare cases — was declared officially eliminated from Australia by the World Health Organisation in 2014. In developed nations including Australia however, the […]





