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Dr Gérald Kierzek (Medical Director)
Measles vaccination coverage has lost ground in recent years, to the point that the World Health Organization is warning of a resurgence in the number of cases in Europe. Is France concerned? The point of view of Dr. Gérald Kierzek, emergency physician and medical director of Doctissimo.
Is measles gaining ground? This is what the World Health Organization (WHO) seems to fear, which is concerned about the resurgence of cases of the disease throughout the world and more particularly in Europe.
Vaccination campaigns suspended
Measles vaccination campaigns have been slowed down by the Covid-19 pandemic in around fifty countries, according to the WHO. Consequence: nearly two million infants have not been vaccinated in Europe.
And the number of measles cases will explode in the region in 2023, compared to the previous year. There are 42,200 cases in 41 of 53 European countries. And sometimes, a reappearance of the disease in certain countries where it was eradicated, such as in the United Kingdom.
What about in France?
In France, there will be around a hundred cases of measles in 2023. The viral disease, which can have serious consequences, is spread by air. It causes rhinitis, with cough and rash and very high fever and does not only affect children.
Some departments, such as Ardèche, have recently experienced “clusters” of contamination, with around sixty cases declared. The measles epidemic broke out on September 19, 2023 in and around a college in the commune of Guilherand-Granges, within the department. According to the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regional Health Agency (ARS), 64 cases of measles were confirmed as of November 10, 2023, and the last reported case dated November 6. A catch-up vaccination campaign has also been organized.
The need for good vaccination coverage
Remember that good vaccination coverage is necessary to prevent the virus from reappearing, with at least 95% of children vaccinated. This is precisely what worries the English authorities, because more than 3.4 million children under 16 are insufficiently protected against measles in the country, where vaccination is only recommended.
In fact, only 85% of children between 2022 and 2023 had received their two doses of MMR vaccine – the equivalent of MMR – measles, mumps, rubella in France – by the time they were 5 years old, the lowest level since 2011.
According to Dr Gérald Kierzek, the situation is explained by a sort of mistrust of vaccines, particularly since the Covid-19 pandemic but not only. “On the one hand, there is a general distrust of vaccines but also a sort of neglect of the potential complications of the disease. Remember that measles is not a benign viral disease: it can cause pneumonia or encephalitis. concludes the doctor.