There is now an imminent threat of measles spreading in various regions globally, as the Covid pandemic has led to a steady decline in vaccination coverage and weakened surveillance of the disease, the World Health Organization and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.
Measles is one of the most contagious human viruses and is
almost entirely preventable through vaccination. However, it requires 95%
vaccine coverage to prevent outbreaks among populations.
A record high of nearly 40 million children missed a measles
vaccine dose in 2021 due to hurdles created by the Covid pandemic, the WHO and
the CDC said in a joint report.
While measles cases have not yet gone up dramatically
compared to previous years, now is the time to act, the WHO’s measles lead, Dr.
Patrick O’Connor, told Reuters.
“We are at a crossroads,” he said Tuesday. “It is going to
be a very challenging 12-24 months trying to mitigate this.”
A combination of factors, such as lingering social
distancing measures and the cyclical nature of measles, may explain why there
has not yet been an explosion of cases despite the widening immunity gaps, but
that could change quickly, O’Connor said, pointing out the highly contagious
nature of the disease.
The United Nations health agency has already seen an
increase in large disruptive outbreaks since the start of the year, rising from
19 to almost 30 by September, he said, adding that he was particularly worried
about parts of sub-Saharan Africa.
Last week, the public health department in Columbus, Ohio,
reported a measles outbreak with 24 active cases, according to the NBC News
affiliate WCMH. All of those cases are in unvaccinated children.
A measles case often starts with a fever, but the illness is
typically characterized by a rash that typically begins to spread from the face
and neck after a few days. The virus can linger in the air and on surfaces for
up to two hours, and an infected person can transmit the virus up to four days
before and after the rash appears, according to the WHO. There is no specific
antiviral to treat measles.
The new report estimates that in 2021, around 128,000 people
died of measles worldwide.
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