Urgent measures are needed now to stop further spread, the World Health Organization says.

There was an “alarming” nearly 45-fold increase in measles cases in Europe last year, the World Health Organization (WHO) says.

Health chiefs are warning that cases are still rising and “urgent measures” are needed to prevent further spread.

Some 42,200 people were infected in 2023, compared to 941 during the whole of 2022.

The WHO believes this is a result of fewer children being vaccinated against the disease during the Covid pandemic.

In the UK, health officials said last week that an outbreak of highly contagious measles in the West Midlands could spread rapidly to other towns and cities with low vaccination rates.

More than 3.4 million children under the age of 16 are unprotected and at risk of becoming ill from the disease, according to NHS England.

  • Goku@lemmy.worldEnglish
    441·
    10 months ago

    It really sucks to be the kid of negligent anti vax parent in situations like these.

    There should be a resource (I’m sure there probably is) for kids to get vaxxed without their parents’ knowledge.

    Sad thing is though that a large portion of those kids can’t reason passed the brainwashing from their looneytune parents and won’t take advantage of those resources.

    • The Pantser@lemmy.worldEnglish
      221·
      10 months ago

      Just start charging the parents for biological warfare for every child that contracts it from their own. Parents will quickly start vaxxing if others are going to prison.

      Sure it’s your right to not vax but if you kill others willingly you are getting charged.

    • Lath@kbin.social
      105·
      10 months ago

      COVID took precedence over all else during that pandemic and resources from otherwise regular activities such as mass vaccination in schools for measles were ignored.
      So it’s less the problem of antivax parents and more the amazingly poor organizational skills of our institutions.