WHO Report Finds Measles Cases Are Surging Despite Drop in Deaths
A report published last week by WHO found that measles cases are surging despite an 88% drop in deaths from the disease between 2000 and 2024.
An estimated 95,000 people, “mostly children younger than 5 years of age, died due to measles in 2024.” Cases are surging worldwide, “with an estimated 11 million infections in 2024 – nearly 800,000 more than pre-pandemic levels in 2019.” Recent measles surges are occurring in “countries and regions where children are less likely to die due to better nutrition and access to health care, [but] those infected remain at risk of serious, lifelong complications such as blindness, pneumonia, and encephalitis.”
An estimated 84% of children received their first dose of the measles vaccine in 2024, but only 76% received the second. This represents a slight improvement from 2023, but “at least 95% coverage with two measles vaccine doses is required to stop transmission and protect communities from outbreak.”
59 countries reported “large or disruptive measles outbreaks – nearly triple the number reported in 2021 and the highest since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic.” Deep funding cuts affecting the Global Measles and Rubella Laboratory Network and country immunization programs are “feared to widen immunity gaps and drive further outbreaks in the coming year.”
