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Measles cases worldwide have almost tripled since January compared to the same period last year, according to the World Health Organization.
Figures published by the World Health Organization show that 364,808 cases were recorded between January 1 and July 31, compared with 129,239 cases last year during the same period.
The spokesman for the organization, Christian Lindmeyer, said at a press conference in Geneva that it was "the largest number" registered since 2006.
The largest losses have been reported in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Madagascar and Ukraine.
The number of cases in Madagascar has "decreased in recent months" as a result of national measles vaccination campaigns, FAO said.
Significant increases in the epidemic have also been recorded in Angola, Cameroon, Kazakhstan, Nigeria, the Philippines, South Sudan, Sudan, Sudan, Sudan and Chad.
The United States has had the highest number of cases in its territory in 25 years.
Measles is one of the most infectious diseases in the world and its deaths are often due to complications. The WHO could not cure the disease, but it can be prevented with two doses of a vaccine "very effective and safe".
The measles epidemic is recorded in countries where immunization coverage is low. Opponents of vaccination in Western countries rely on a 1998 study linking measles vaccine to autism. The world body has refuted this argument repeatedly, while British author Andrew Wakefield was falsifying the findings.
Opposition to vaccination may be religiously motivated, as is the case in New York, where the disease was introduced by unvaccinated travelers from Israel.
In Europe, figures have also doubled, with some 90,000 cases reported this year, compared with 84,442 in 2018.
Elsewhere, FAO has increased tenfold in Africa, 230% in the Western Pacific and 50% in the Eastern Mediterranean. In Asia and throughout the continent, the decline was 15%.
The World Health Organization considers that anyone over six months old should be immunized against measles before traveling to an area of spread of the disease. He recommends that travelers receive the vaccine at least 15 days before their trip.
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