The measles cases in Europe have generally decreased since 1997, when approximately 216,000 cases were reported in the region. The number of registered cases was at a minimum level in 2016, when only 4,440 was infected by the viral disease.
An upswing was seen in 2018 and 2019, but in 2024 a sharp increase took place, with a total of 127,350 cases in 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, according to an analysis from UNICEF and WHO. There are twice as many who were registered in 2023 – and the highest number since 1997.
“We have a serious situation, this is the highest figure of 25 years,” says Pernilla Bararal, secretary general at UNICEF Sweden.
Fewer have been vaccinated
Almost half of those affected, 43 percent, were children under five years.
UNICEF and WHO point out the pandemic as the main reason for the increase, as many countries stopped in their routine vaccinations of children.
– But even before, in many countries, it was not made sure that the entire population had access to the vaccine, says Bararal.
In 2023, 500,000 children in Europe and Central Asia did not receive their first dose of the measles vaccine.
At the same time, vaccination coverage, according to the organizations’ report, has decreased in most countries in the region – to less than 95 percent, which is what is needed to achieve flock immunity.
Romania is the country that last year had the most reported measles cases (30 692), followed by Kazakhstan (28 147).
“No country can be completely safe”
Sweden had the most registered cases in the Nordic countries (37), and the highest number in the country in many years, according to The statistics of the Public Health Authority. It is primarily about people who traveled abroad and brought home the infection.
– No country can be absolutely safe, you always have to work with information and communication about vaccinations, how important it is, but also ensure that all groups in society are reached by vaccination, says Pernilla Bararal.
Tina Crafoord, head of the vaccination programs at the Public Health Authority, says that the global figures are worrying, but that there is currently no need to be afraid of measles in Sweden.
– Here we have quite constant figures over time.
UNICEF and WHO also mention an increased skepticism against vaccines and disinformation on social platforms as other causes of the reduced vaccine coverage in some groups.
– It is a huge job that we and others are allowed to put down, to get facts in relation to thinking, says Pernilla Bararal at Unicef Sweden.