Measles in EU: 10 Countries Account For 98% of Measles Cases Reported in 2023, WHO Reveals

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The World Health Organization in the European Region has recently released its monthly update for measles and rubella.

The report revealed that there are actually 10 countries that account for 98% of the reported measles cases in the region in 2023.

Measles in EU

According to the report, a total of 61,182 reported measles cases were seen in the EU in 2023. Ten countries accounted for 60,147 (98%) such cases.

These countries are Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, Azerbaijan, Türkiye, Romania, the Russian Federation, Kyrgyzstan, Armenia, Tajikistan, and the United Kingdom.

Among these countries, the highest number of cases was observed in Kazakhstan, amounting to 15,111. Azerbaijan followed after with a prevalence of 13,728 cases. The Russian Federation came third, having a number of 12,935 cases.

All other countries had a case count that did not exceed 10,000.

The report also sheds light on incidences and cases related to vaccination and age groups. It revealed that in the majority of such cases, there were zero vaccination doses. The highest vaccination status count according to age was among children aged one to four years old, having received just one dose of the vaccine.

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What Is This Virus?

Measles is a virus-caused childhood infection. It is a serious, highly-contagious, and airborne disease. The condition can almost always be hampered or prevented through vaccination.

The condition can easily spread and be severe or even fatal for children who are very young. Though death rates have been going down with higher vaccination rates, the disease is still responsible for over 200,000 deaths each year. Most of the people who die due to the condition are children.

Measles leads to a blotchy and red rash that typically appears behind the ears and first on the face. It then reaches the back and chest and goes on until the feet.

Signs and symptoms of measles typically surface roughly 10 to 14 days post-exposure. Such signs and symptoms could be dry cough, fever, sore throat, runny nose, conjunctivitis, a skin rash consisting of flat and large blotches that typically flow into each other, and Koplik's spots.

There are typically infection stages that take place during the course of two to three weeks. During the first ten to fourteen days post-infection, the virus may spread within the body. The condition may not have any signs or symptoms by then.

A mild to moderate fever may then surface. A runny nose, persistent cough, a sore throat, and conjunctivitis may accompany it. This is quite mild and may persist for two to three days.

Acute illness and rashes may then start. The rash consists of tiny red spots, with some of them being slightly raised. Bumps and spots in close clusters offer a blotchy red appearance to the skin.

Breakouts tend to happen in the face first. The rash may then spread to the chest, back, arms, and also over the thighs, lower legs, and feet in the coming days. Fever may also sharply rise, reaching up to 40 to 41 degrees Celsius.

The rash could persist for roughly seven days. It may gradually fade in the face first and go on until the thighs and feet are clear. As illness symptoms leave, cough and skin darken or peel where the rash was present could stay for roughly ten days.