The reason is the vaccination coverage that has fallen during the corona pandemia, according to the organization.
Last year, Europe has found most of the cases of measles in over 25 years, says the World Health Organization.
The WHO European area also includes Central Asian countries. More than 127,000 measles cases and 38 diseases due to the disease were observed in the area last year. The number of patients doubled the other year.
More than half of the cases of measles needed hospital care.
More than 40 % of cases of disease concerned children under five years of age.
According to the WHO, vaccination coverage started to decline during the corona pandemia and has not returned in many countries. In a news release from the WHO European area, Hans Kluge urges authorities to enhance vaccination activities in communities of undercurrent and non-vaccinated communities.
“Without high vaccination coverage, there is no health safety,” Kluge said in the release.
According to the organization, the first dose of measles vaccination in 2023 was missed by 500,000 children in the WHO in Europe.
Highly contagious disease
Measles has been observed in the WHO European region in Europe last in 1997, when there were 216,000 cases.
The number of cases fell to the lowest in 2016, when they were observed over 4,000.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that spreads as a touch and droplet infection and air, says Department of Health and Welfare. Measles viruses remain infected in the room air and on the surfaces up to two hours after the person being infected has already left.