HQ Team
April 29, 2025: A ten-fold increase in measles cases was reported from Europe last year, while the numbers shot up 11-fold this year until April 18, in the American region, according to two global health agencies.
A total of 35,212 measles cases was reported across the European Union and the European Economic Area (EU/EEA) in 2024 after a period of “low activity” during 2020-2022, coinciding with the Covid-19 pandemic, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
“The overall notification rate in 2024 was 77.4 cases per 1,000,000 population, which was substantially higher compared to 9.1 in 2023, according to a report by the ECDC.
Measles is an acute, highly contagious viral disease capable of causing epidemics. It is caused by a single-stranded ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus of the genus Morbillivirus and the family Paramyxoviridae.
Respiratory droplets
The virus is transmitted from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when infected people cough and sneeze.
Virus-containing droplets can remain in the air for several hours, and the virus remains infectious on contaminated surfaces for up to two hours. It is characterised by symptoms such as high fever, cough, runny nose, inflamed eyes, and a distinctive red rash that spreads across the body. Complications can be severe and include pneumonia, hearing loss, encephalitis, and death.
Romania reported the highest rate at 1,610.7 cases per 1,000,000 population, accounting for approximately 87% (30,692) of all EU/EEA cases, followed by Austria (59.5), Belgium (44.9) and Ireland (39.6).
In 2024, measles cases were reported among all age groups, and infants under one year of age were the most affected group, with 1,175.4 cases per 1,000,000 population, followed by children aged one to four years.
Vaccine coverage
Individuals above the age of 14 years represented 26% of the overall reported cases. A total of 14 of the 23 measles deaths reported in 2024 (22 of which from Romania) were observed in children below five years of age.
The vaccine coverage estimates indicate that in many countries, routine childhood vaccination against measles remains “below the recommended level to achieve and sustain measles elimination.”
The report called for the deployment of upgraded digitalised immunisation information systems to identify and reach the unvaccinated.
This “is critical and should form an integral part of national efforts to improve the performance and management of the overall national immunisation programmes.”
Childhood death
Measles is extremely infectious, and it is estimated that 90% of non-immune people exposed to an individual with the infection will contract the disease.
Globally, measles remains a leading cause of childhood death, and an estimated 140,000 children die each year from complications caused by the disease. Measles prevention at the individual level requires two doses of a measles-containing vaccine.
At the population level, achieving and sustaining a vaccination coverage of at least 95% with two doses is essential to control the spread of the disease and prevent outbreaks.
According to the World Health Organization, as of April 18, 2025, a total of 2,318 measles cases, including three deaths, have been confirmed in six countries in the WHO Region of the Americas — an 11-fold increase compared to the same period in 2024.
Six nations
The cases have been reported from six countries. Argentina accounted for 21 cases, Belize two, Brazil five, Canada 1,069, Mexico 421, including one death, and the US 800 cases, including two deaths, according to a statement.
The majority of cases have occurred among people between one to 29 years, who are either unvaccinated or have an unknown vaccination status.
Most cases are imported or linked to importation. More than 22 million children worldwide did not receive their first dose of the vaccine in 2023, the WHO stated.
This has contributed to a global rise in measles cases in 2024, which heightens the risk of imported infections, particularly from unvaccinated travellers arriving from areas where the virus is actively circulating.
