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Unicef warns that nearly 170 million children under the age of 10 in the world, of which half a million in the United Kingdom and 2.5 million in the United States, are unprotected of measles, in the face of growing epidemics.
More than 21 million children a year are not vaccinated against one of the most infectious organisms that exists, according to the UN agency. Between 2010 and 2017, an estimated 169 million children missed the first of two recommended diets.
"The ground for measles outbreaks that we have witnessed today has been laid," said Henrietta Fore, executive director of Unicef. "The measles virus will always find unvaccinated children. If we really want to prevent the spread of this dangerous but preventable disease, we must vaccinate all children in rich and poor countries. "
Simon Stevens, the managing director of NHS England, warned that the situation was serious. "Getting vaccinated, as well as children, against deadly diseases is essential for staying healthy, and rejection of the vaccine is a serious and growing time bomb for public health," he said.
He called Facebook and Twitter to take action against the display of anti-vaccine propaganda and conspiracy theories. "Measles cases have almost quadrupled in England in just one year, so it's absolutely irresponsible to air alarmist articles about vaccines, and social media companies should take a zero-tolerance approach to this content. dangerous, "he said.
Measles cases increased by 300% in the first three months of this year compared to the same period last year, Unicef reported, with 110,000 reports confirmed. The same number of people died of the disease in 2017. Measles cases have reached their highest level in Europe in 20 years and have caused the declaration of an emergency in New York.
According to estimates, between one and three out of every 1,000 people with measles will die, some will survive severely, such as blindness, encephalitis (an infection that causes swelling of the brain) and pneumonia.
The United States tops the list of high-income countries with the largest number of children having not received the first dose of the vaccine between 2010 and 2017, with over 2.5 million people. Next come France and the United Kingdom, with more than 600,000 and 500,000 unvaccinated infants, respectively, during the same period.
In low- and middle-income countries, the situation is critical, says UNICEF. In 2017, for example, Nigeria had the largest number of children less than one year old who missed the first dose, nearly 4 million. Next are India (2.9 million), Pakistan and Indonesia (1.2 million each) and Ethiopia (1.1 million).
Many countries have not introduced the second dose, which is administered after the age of four. Twenty countries in sub-Saharan Africa are not part of their immunization schedule, which means that 17 million infants are at higher risk.
Dr. Robin Nandy, UNICEF immunization officer, said: "I am extremely worried and everyone should be worried. I would be very disappointed if it did not bother us. We have had a vaccine for several decades now. It is inexpensive, effective, safe and widely available. Despite this, we are seeing epidemics all over the world.
"We know that in many conflict-affected areas, in remote rural areas and in some urban slums, children are being left behind for some reason, but we are also witnessing measles epidemics in Europe, Japan and other parts of the world. in the United States, which is extremely disappointing. The measles vaccine is a miracle solution for public health. "
Nationwide vaccination rates can be misleading, said Nandy. 95% coverage is needed to prevent outbreaks and some countries can manage 92%. But that means there will be pockets where vaccination rates will be low. "There is a group of likely children concentrated in a particular place. As soon as the virus is introduced into this population, it spreads like wildfire and 90% of children will get sick. "
Adam Finn, professor of pediatrics at the University of Bristol, said: "Complete immunization of your child against measles and other childhood infections should be as simple and automatic as it will teach him to feed and send to school. This should be obvious.
"Unicef sends us a clear message to all officials, so that we act together. If we insist on playing the blame game, then we should blame ourselves, not parents and anti-vaxxers when things are not done well.
"That's what we are paid to do and we have the joint responsibility to deliver. If we fail, we leave the next generation with as much negligence as if we fill the plastic seas and the greenhouse gas atmosphere. "
Mary Ramsay, Vaccinations Officer at Public Health England, said, "These numbers underscore the importance of routine immunization, but also ensure that anyone who misses a dose is caught up to minimize the risk. epidemic. If you consider the absolute numbers, it shows that even a small difference – a vaccination participation rate of 1% to 2% – could make all the difference. "
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