‘Wake-up call’: Measles cases doubled in Europe last year, say WHO and Unicef

Across Europe, more than 50,000 cases of measles involved children under the age of five. Photograph: Alamy

Cases of measles doubled last year in the European region, climbing to the highest level in nearly three decades, after the Covid-19 pandemic caused delays in routine vaccination and rampant misinformation, the World Health Organization and Unicef have said.

A joint analysis published on Thursday said 127,350 cases of measles, resulting in at least 38 deaths, were reported last year across the region, which includes 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia. In the vast majority of cases, those infected were unvaccinated or had an unknown vaccination status.