US health authorities have warned of an 88% increase in measles cases since 2000, despite a decrease in deaths, amid global concern over immunization.
The US health authorities reported that the number of measles cases has increased by 88% since 2000, although the mortality rate has seen a significant decline during that period. According to local media reports, there were 11 million measles cases in 2024, reflecting deficiencies in immunization coverage necessary to protect communities from this highly contagious disease.
Measles returns despite medical advancements
Measles is seeing a worrying global resurgence after decades of efforts to reduce deaths caused by it. While global immunization programs have reduced deaths by 88% between 2000 and 2024, saving the lives of about 59 million people, the number of cases has risen again to worrying levels.
The spread of the disease and its impact on children
Estimates indicate that 11 million people were infected with measles in 2024, an increase of approximately 800,000 cases compared to 2019 before the COVID-19 pandemic. More dangerously, about 95,000 people have died, most of them children under the age of five, despite the availability of an effective and low-cost vaccine.
Challenges of global immunization
The World Health Organization has issued a new report highlighting increasing gaps in vaccination coverage and their severe consequences, noting that every death from measles could have been prevented. The measles virus is the most contagious in the world, exploiting any shortfall in immunization, and Dr. Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, the Director-General of the World Health Organization, affirmed that measles knows no boundaries, and its outbreak can be prevented and eradicated in entire countries when every child in every community is vaccinated.
