Measles cases increase by 79% in 2 months,
The United Nations Children’s Fund, UNICEF, and the World Health Organisation, WHO, have warned of what they described as a “perfect storm” of conditions for measles outbreaks, disclosing that measles cases increased by 79 per cent in the first two months of 2022, compared to the same period in 2021.
In a report, they stated that an increase in measles cases in January and February 2022 is a worrying sign of a heightened risk for the spread of vaccine-preventable diseases and could trigger larger outbreaks, particularly of measles affecting millions of children this year.
Pandemic-related disruptions, increasing inequalities in access to vaccines, and the diversion of resources from routine immunization are leaving too many children without protection against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases.
