WASHINGTON (dpa-AFX) - The latest report from the World Health Organization revealed that the measles cases increased by 20 percent, to 10.341 million from 8.645 million across the world between 2022 and 2023.
During the same period, deaths from measles declined by 8 percent, to 107,500 in 2023 from 116,800 in 2022. However, most of the death cases were reported among children under the age of five.
The decline in death rate might be due to increased access to health care, as well as better treatment and nutrition.
According to a concurrent report released by the Centers from Disease Control and Prevention, the lowest rate of measles vaccination since 2008 was noted during the Covid-19 pandemic, with the first dose of the measles vaccine dropping to 81 percent.
'Measles vaccine has saved more lives than any other vaccine in the past 50 years,' urged WHO Director-General Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus. 'To save even more lives and stop this deadly virus from harming the most vulnerable, we must invest in immunization for every person, no matter where they live.'
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