On Tuesday, February 20, 2024, the World Health Organization expressed concern over the measles’ quick spread, noting that there were over 306,000 cases globally last year, a 79% rise from 2022.

“We in the measles world are extremely concerned,” stated Natasha Crowcroft, the WHO’s Expert Adviser on Measles and Rubella.

Measles is a highly contagious, dangerous virus-based airborne illness that can cause serious complications, including death. Children are primarily affected.

However, Crowcroft emphasized that the number of measles cases was undoubtedly far higher because the illness is usually drastically unreported.

Each year, the UN Health Organization models the numbers to obtain more precise numbers. According to its most recent estimate, there were 9.2 million cases and 136,216 measles fatalities in 2022.

Although this type of modeling has not yet been completed for the previous year, Crowcroft noted that the number of deaths in 2022 had already increased by 43% over the previous year.

Through a video link from Cairo, she informed media in Geneva that “we would anticipate an increase in deaths in 2023 as well” because of the rapidly rising number of cases.

“This year is going to be extremely difficult.” She issued a warning, stating that by the end of the year, measles outbreaks are predicted to occur in more than half of all countries in the World.

According to Crowcroft, one of the main reasons for the rising numbers is the “backsliding immunization coverage.”

The vaccination rate worldwide has fallen to 83 percent, although children must obtain full vaccines against the disease in at least 95% of instances to prevent outbreaks.

Crowcroft noted that 92% of all measles-related deaths in children occur in fewer than 25% of the World’s Population, mostly in extremely low-income nations.

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