Vaccine skepticism helped make European measles prolific again

[DonViejo]

Andrew Freedman 1 hour ago

More than 41,000 people in Europe were infected with measles during the first half of 2018, according to the WHO, smashing 12-month totals for any year since 2010.

Why it matters: Measles is a preventable disease with a highly effective vaccine, but medically unfounded skepticism about the vaccine's link to autism have reduced vaccination rates below the effective threshold to protect many communities.

By the numbers: The measles outbreak so far this year is staggering.

Previously, the highest number of cases in a year was 23,927, recorded last year.

According to the WHO, 34 fatalities have occurred from the ongoing outbreak.

Seven European countries have had more than 1,000 cases reported so far this year, including: France, Georgia, Greece, Italy, Russia, Serbia and Ukraine.

Serbia has had the most deaths from the virus (14) while Ukraine has had a whopping 23,000 total cases.

“Following the decade’s lowest number of cases in 2016, we are seeing a dramatic increase in infections and extended outbreaks,” says Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO regional director for Europe, in a press release.

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https://www.axios.com/measles-outbreak-reaches-record-levels-europe-7b09bf19-0ee1-4a6e-beea-3163cc11bd9b.html