WHO warns of a deadly disease spreading around the world. This is not the first time that this epidemic has spread; it had already caused terrible damage in the Middle Ages.
Epidemics have often wreaked havoc, well before Covid-19. The Black Death killed between 25 and 40 million people in Europe in the 14th century, cholera caused nearly 100,000 deaths in less than six months in France in the 19th century, and the Spanish flu killed 20 to 30 million people on the European continent in the 20th century. There was also AIDS, which arrived in the late 1900s and is still raging today, taking the lives of no fewer than two million people per year at its peak.
It is on another epidemic that theWHO alerted in July. It has already wreaked havoc in the past. In 1529, in Honduras in Central America, it claimed the lives of two thirds of the indigenous population as well as 40,000 people in 1848 in Hawaii. It is a highly contagious disease caused by a virus and which is transmitted quickly when the infected person coughs or sneezes. It can cause complications in some patients because the virus reaches the respiratory system and then spreads throughout the body. It can also weaken the immune system.
The main symptoms, which can appear between 10 and 14 days after exposure to the virus, are fever, cough or a rash all over the body. In 2022, 136,000 people died from this disease, mostly children under five years old. However, there is a two-dose vaccine to protect against it. The WHO has noted that this vaccination is in decline. This is why the organization has sounded the alarm regarding measles.
Nearly 35 million children are not fully vaccinated against the disease. In 2023, 83% of children received at least one dose and 74% were able to have a complete vaccination. Figures far from the 95% coverage needed to prevent an epidemic. In the last five years, 103 countries have been hit by measles.
In France, the epidemic also threatens the population and especially children. The Ministry of Health reported a few weeks ago a significant increase in cases by a factor of 8 in 2023 compared to 2022 and highlighted “the existence of pockets of individuals still receptive to the virus, particularly among adolescents and young adults”. Santé Publique France indicates that “in the majority of cases, travelers returning from a stay in an endemic area contracted the disease, returned contagious to France and spread the virus”.
“Measles outbreaks are like the canary in the mine, exposing and exploiting gaps in vaccination coverage and hitting the most vulnerable first,” said Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus, WHO Director-General. The organization says the COVID-19 pandemic has led to vaccine hesitancy and reduced surveillance. Vaccine rollouts have often been delayed or missed.