International
Posted2024.04.29 07:59 Modified2024.04.29 07:59
At the World Congress of the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases (ESCMID), held in Barcelona, Spain, from 27 to 30, a team led by Dr. Patrick O’Connor of the World Health Organization (WHO) and La Professor Hanna Nohinek of the Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare announced that 321,582 cases were reported worldwide last year.
This is an increase of 88% compared to the previous year (171,153 cases). The research team said earlier this month that 94,481 cases have been reported this year and that the actual number of cases is likely to be much higher due to delays in reporting, and that the number of cases this year is expected year will decrease. at least the same as last year or better.
Furthermore, 42,767 (45%) of this year’s cases occurred in the WHO European Region, while Yemen, Azerbaijan and Kyrgyzstan have the highest incidence of measles in the world. Such large-scale epidemics and continued transmission could make measles eradication difficult. I was afraid there was.
Measles epidemics around the world rose rapidly for several years shortly before the COVID-19 pandemic, then plummeted due to measures to contain the virus, then increased again.
The number of measles cases increased from 180,015 in 2017 to 276,157 in 2018 and 541,401 in 2019, then to 93,840 in 2020 and 59,619 in 2021 when the COVID-19 pandemic began. The number of cases has decreased, but is increasing rapidly again.
Professor Nohinek said: “During the COVID-19 pandemic, human-to-human contact has been limited due to social lockdowns, which have reduced the spread of all airborne viruses, including measles, but not vaccinations have been administered. As a result, measles epidemics are once again on the rise in regions around the world.” He said.
Measles epidemics are concentrated in low- and lower-middle-income countries. The share of global measles epidemics in these countries increased from 80% in 2017 to 94% in 2022, while the share in high-income countries fell from 5% to 1%.
Dr. O’Connor pointed out that from 2000 to 2022, measles vaccination has achieved the result of preventing approximately 57 million deaths worldwide, but not only has the vaccination rate declined due to the COVID-19 pandemic , but there was also a big difference in vaccination rates by region. He went on to advise: “Because the measles virus is highly contagious, gaps in vaccination rates between regions and countries represent a potential epidemic risk” and added: “We must increase vaccination rates in all regions and countries so uniform and fair”.
Reporter Lee Young-ho hoya@wowtv.co.kr
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