Measles cases expected to rise in coming months in Europe

ISTANBUL

Measles cases are expected to increase in the coming months in Europe, the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) warned on Tuesday.

“In line with the seasonal pattern of the disease, a further increase in the number of cases is expected during the spring of 2025,” the center wrote in a statement.

The ECDC reported that a total of 32,265 people were diagnosed with measles between Feb. 1, 2024, and Jan. 31, 2025, with Romania accounting for the vast majority of cases – 27,568.

During the period, Romania recorded 18 deaths attributed to the disease. Ireland also recorded one fatality.

After Romania, Italy experienced the second-largest outbreak, with just over 1,000 cases. Germany, Belgium, and Austria followed, though each confirmed fewer than 1,000 cases.

“The ongoing transmission indicates gaps in vaccination coverage against this preventable illness – among children, adolescents and adults alike,” the center said.

The ECDC warned that measles is highly contagious, spreading easily from person to person through the air and rapidly among unvaccinated communities.

Preventing measles outbreaks and protecting vulnerable populations require at least 95% of the population eligible for vaccination to receive two doses of the measles, mumps, and rubella (MMR) vaccine, it added.

In a February 2024 report, the EDCD said half of the reported deaths in the ongoing outbreak in Romania at the time were infants. Those under 12 months old are too young to be vaccinated.

In the US, an unvaccinated six-year-old girl in Texas recently became the first American to die of measles in a decade, her father told The Atlantic. A second death was reported in New Mexico earlier this month.