Increase in cases, decline in vaccination… If these trends recall the episode of the Covid-19 crisis, they now concern the measles epidemic, which is in full swing. The World Health Organization (WHO) has noted a 79% increase in cases between 2022 and 2023.
The latest global data (as of February 2024) shows precisely 306,291 cases reported to WHO last year, compared to 171,156 cases in 2022. However, Natasha Crowcroft, technical advisor for measles and rubella at WHO , underlines this Tuesday, February 20 in a press briefing that the real figures are much higher. This resurgence of the disease affects “all WHO regions, except one”: that of the Americas, she specifies.
Because of this jump, “we also expect an increase in the number of deaths in 2023”, but the data will not be available until November, the expert said. According to WHO estimates, there were 9.2 million cases last year. The rebound of this highly contagious viral disease, which can cause fatal complications and spreads through the air, is attributed to a drop in vaccination coverage during the Covid years.
Decline in vaccination
Indeed, “the prevention of measles and rubella is no longer a global and governmental priority due to competing problems such as Covid-19, economic crises, conflicts…”, specifies the WHO in a note . Measles prevention requires that 95% of children receive two doses of measles vaccine. However, at the global level, vaccination coverage stands at 83% and has not returned to the 2019 level (86%).
For the moment, France remains generally spared, in particular thanks to the implementation of compulsory vaccination for infants in 2018. “The objective of two-dose vaccination coverage of 95% at the age of 2 years could soon be reached”, according to Public Health France, in a report published at the end of January. The country will have just over a hundred cases in 2023, according to unconsolidated data.
In Europe, more than 30,000 cases of measles were recorded last year, according to WHO figures, i.e. thirty times more than in 2022. Kazakhstan and Russia are the most affected countries with more of 10,000 cases each.
Last year, there were 51 major measles outbreaks, compared to 32 in 2022, said Natasha Crowcroft. In order to determine the number of deaths caused by this disease, the WHO usually carries out modeling. She does not yet have the results for 2023. On the other hand, for 2022, “I can tell you that the number of deaths has increased by 43% according to our models, to the tune of more than 130,000 deaths due to measles,” she said. noted the expert.