The alerts were not listened to. In 2020, more than 22 million infants had not received their first dose of measles vaccine, warned the World Health Organization (WHO) in a press release published in November of that same year. It was the highest number since 2009, and 3.7 million more than in 2019, according to the WHO and Unicef. However, the best protection against measles, which takes its name from the characteristic red patches that it causes to appear all over the body, is indeed a very high vaccination coverage.
This figure therefore represented a “catastrophe” for the UN agency, which mainly explained this delay by the Covid-19 pandemic and the cessation of multiple vaccination campaigns, particularly on the African continent. Measles, before this crisis, was already showing signs of resurgence in Europe in 2019.
The consequences are visible today: the number of cases jumped 79% in the first two months of 2022, compared to the same period last year, according to WHO and Unicef. The two UN agencies now fear the appearance of serious epidemics of measles, a highly contagious viral disease, which could affect “millions of children” in 2022.
So far, some 17,338 measles cases have been reported globally in January and February 2022, compared to 9,665 in the first two months of 2021. But the numbers are likely higher because the pandemic has also disrupted systems monitoring.
The lack of vaccination raises fears of a resurgence of measles in the months to come. This is already partly the case.
The Express
21 major outbreaks in the past 12 months
As of April 1, 2022, the WHO still deplores the postponement, due to the pandemic, of 57 vaccine prevention campaigns against diseases in 43 countries, to the detriment of 203 million people, mainly children. The UN health agency then counted 21 major measles outbreaks in the past 12 months (up to April), most of them in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean region.
The countries with the biggest measles outbreaks since last year are Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia. According to WHO, for Nigeria alone, 12,341 cases have been reported in the past year. Over 9,000 for Somalia. The alert now exists for Ukraine, in great difficulty in the face of the Russian invasion.
Because the disease is highly contagious, cases tend to appear when vaccination levels drop. Both international agencies fear that these measles outbreaks are a harbinger of other, slower-spreading outbreaks.
“Measles is more than a dangerous and life-threatening disease. It is also one of the first signs that there are gaps in global immunization coverage,” said UNICEF Executive Director Catherine Russell.
The Covid-19 pandemic has disrupted immunization services, health systems have been overwhelmed and we are now seeing a resurgence of deadly diseases, including measles. For many other diseases, the impact of these interruptions to immunization services will be felt for decades,” warned WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. “Now is the time to get immunization programs back on track. essential vaccination and to launch catch-up campaigns so that everyone can have access to these life-saving vaccines,” he urged.