Stark warning as 'very nasty disease' spreads across Europe
There has been a spike in measles across Europe and Central Asia, with 127,350 cases reported in 2024
Doctors have stressed the importance of getting vaccinated for a 'very nasty disease' has left 'one in five children' hospitalised.
There has been a spike in measles across Europe and Central Asia, with 127,350 cases reported in 2024 - double the number seen in 2023.
Measles was one of the world's most infectious diseases, spread by an airborne virus, the Mirror reports.
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It typically infects the respiratory system, with symptoms including fever, cough, runny nose and a rash.
Serious cases can cause pneumonia, encephalitis, dehydration, and blindness.
According to Unicef around 40 per cent of measles infections in Europe and Central Asia were in children under five.
More than half of all people infected with measles had to be hospitalised.
However medics have said two doses of the measles vaccine was thought to be 97 per cent effective in preventing the disease.
Dr Han Kluge, the World Health Organization's Europe director, said: "Measles is back, and it's a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security."
Dr Doug Brown, chief executive of the British Society for Immunology, added: “It is extremely worrying to see such high numbers of measles cases across the European Region.
"Measles is a very nasty disease that causes serious illness, including hospitalisation and, in extreme situations, death.
"In recent outbreaks in England, one in five children who caught measles were hospitalised.
“The measles virus is highly contagious and spreads easily from person-to-person.
"The good news is that in the UK we have access to a safe and effective vaccine — the MMR vaccine — that provides long-term protection against measles.
"However, as measles is so infectious, uptake of this vaccine needs to be very high, at 95 per cent, to stop the disease circulating within our communities.
"We have long known that vaccine uptake rates for the MMR vaccine in both the UK and Europe are lower than this required level.
"For example, in England in 2023-24, only 83.9% of children had received both doses of the MMR vaccine by the required timepoint.”
Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, from London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said being vaccinated was "the best way to protect you, your child, your family and people who aren’t able to get the vaccine like young babies, from getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people".
He added: "It’s never too late to get vaccinated. If you have questions, don’t know whether you’ve already had a vaccine or want to find out where to get a vaccine, the best advice is to talk to your GP."