- During the first two months of this year, 17,338 infections have been confirmed.
- The countries with the most active measles outbreaks are Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan, and Ethiopia.
- In 2020, an outbreak of measles was recorded in Mexico that caused more than a hundred cases.
The world situation with respect to health shows a panorama full of contrasts. On the one hand, more and more countries have achieved relative control of the Covid-19 pandemic. The problem is that there are other diseases that have begun to emerge or increase their incidence in an alarming way. A clear example is that of Measles infections are on the rise.
Other recent health problems
In this vein, in recent weeks other problems have been reported that are being monitored. In the first instance, the World Health Organization (WHO) published a health alert for unknown childhood hepatitis which has caused at least 169 cases in 11 European countries and one in America. In addition, the first fatality has already been reported.
On the other hand, there is also the outbreak of Salmonella Typhimurium sequence type 34 that has spread to 11 countries. Based on the investigations, its origin is found in the plant of a chocolate company located in Belgium. It was also found that it is resistant to six different types of antibiotics.
Now, to return to measles infections, today the WHO gave terrible news. during the first months of this 2022 they showed an increase of 79% compared to the same period of the previous year.
With the above in mind, the WHO and UNICEF warn that the conditions are ripe for a “perfect storm” that will produce serious outbreaks of vaccine-preventable diseases.
In January and February 2022, 17,338 cases of measles were reported worldwide. By comparison, in the first two months of 2021 there were 9,665. Because measles is highly contagious, cases tend to appear quickly when vaccination levels drop. Agencies are concerned that measles outbreaks could also be a warning sign for outbreaks of other diseases that don’t spread as quickly.
“Pandemic-related disruptions, widening inequalities in access to vaccines, and the diversion of resources from routine immunization are leaving too many children unprotected against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases,” the agencies say in a statement.
The countries with the largest measles outbreaks since last year are Somalia, Yemen, Nigeria, Afghanistan and Ethiopia.
The organizations warn that during the pandemic 57 vaccination campaigns against infectious diseases have been paralyzed in 43 countries. This affects 203 million people, many of them children. Of these interrupted campaigns, 19 are for measleswhich has placed 73 million children at risk.
Most recent measles outbreak in Mexico
Similarly, it cannot be forgotten that in 2020 there was a measles outbreak in Mexico that generated more than a hundred infections. From this situation, our country was placed in the second position of those with the most cases in Latin America, just below Brazil.
In part, the population’s lack of interest in staying protected was one of the main causes of the expansion of this outbreak. Although it has already been controlled, there is a risk that new cases will appear if the same thought of denying the vaccine persists.
On the other hand, based on the reports, the last records of autochthonous cases of measles in Mexico appeared in 1996. Since then, our country had remained protected from the disease until now.