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Measles cases worldwide have jumped more than 30% from 2016, with increases recorded in wealthy European countries like Germany, where vaccination coverage is historically high, announced Thursday. 39; UN.
The World Health Organization said the alarming trend of measles cases to resurgence was a near-global phenomenon, but that causes varied from one region to another.
In Europe, experts attributed the problem in part to complacency and misinformation about a vaccine that has proven to be both safe and effective.
Martin Friede, director of immunization, vaccines and biologics at the WHO, told reporters that "alleged experts accusing the vaccine without any evidence" have had an impact on parents' decisions.
He cited non-medical allegations linking measles vaccine and autism, which were partly disseminated on social media by members of the so-called "anti-vax" movement.
However, cases have also seen a sharp rise in Latin America, partly because of "the collapse of the health system in Venezuela," said the head of the Alliance for Immunization, Gavi, Seth Berkley, in a statement.
A crippling political and economic crisis in Venezuela has led to massive inflation as hospitals struggle to conserve their stocks.
"What is more worrying than the increase in the number of cases reported, is that we are seeing a continuous transmission of measles in countries that previously had not seen it since many years, "said Friede.
"It suggests that we are really regressing."
Several countries, including Germany, Russia and Venezuela, have been stripped of their measles elimination certificate in the past 12 months.
A country loses its measles elimination status when "the same type of virus has been circulating for more than 12 consecutive months," according to the WHO.
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The WHO emphasized that the global fight against measles had shown impressive results this century. In 2000, more than 850,000 cases were reported worldwide, compared to 173,000 last year.
These advances have made recent setbacks even more frustrating, said Ann Lindstrand, WHO immunization expert.
"We have a safe and effective vaccine," she told reporters. "It's not rocket science, we know what to do."
According to WHO guidelines, the prevention of measles outbreaks requires 95% coverage of the first dose of the vaccine.
Global coverage has stagnated at 85% for several years, but this figure is lower in the poorer regions like Africa, with a coverage rate of 70% in 2017.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that can cause severe diarrhea, pneumonia and vision loss and can be fatal in some cases.
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