- Surging Ko claims LPGA Queen City crown in spectacular style
- 'Impossible': Alcaraz shoots down Federer comparisons after Laver Cup win
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote
- Verstappen says 'silly' swearing row could hasten F1 exit
- Calls for Israel and Hezbollah to step back from the abyss
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to avoid 'catastrophe'
- Colombia battles fires as drought fuels Latin American flames
- Pressure piles on new French government from day one
- Arteta proud as Arsenal salvage point from 'impossible' task
- Barca rout Villarreal in thriller but Ter Stegen hurt
- Roma stroll past Udinese as fans protest De Rossi sacking
- Horschel outduels McIlroy to win PGA Championship play-off
- Audiences summon 'Beetlejuice' to top of N. America box office for third week
- Stones salvages point for Man City against 10-man Arsenal
- Egypt fears 'all out' regional war: foreign minister to AFP
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory, Stuttgart outclass Dortmund
- Scholz's party beats far-right AfD in east German state vote: projections
- Olympic champion Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Horschel's eagle beats McIlroy in PGA Championship play-off
- Mourners at commander's funeral express loyalty to Hezbollah
- Norris hails his 'mega' McLaren after dominant win at Singapore
- Monaco beat Le Havre to join PSG at the top of Ligue 1
- Scholz's party narrowly leads far-right AfD in east German state vote: exit polls
- New leftist president vows to 'rewrite Sri Lankan history'
- UN adopts pact to tackle volatile future for mankind
- Leclerc hails Ferrari fightback from torrid Singapore GP qualifying
- Belgian Evenepoel retains world title in 'toughest time trial'
- Sosa rescues point for Forest against Brighton
- Last-gasp Boniface gives Leverkusen victory over Wolfsburg in seven-goal thriller
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: official results
- No fairytale ending for Ricciardo after 13 years in Formula One
- Israel and Hezbollah urged to step back from the brink
- What is the UN's 'Pact for the Future'?
- Norris dominates Singapore Grand Prix to cut Verstappen's title lead
- From bullets to ballots: Sri Lanka's comrade president-elect
- McLaren's Lando Norris wins Singapore GP to narrow F1 title race
- UN adopts pact promising to build 'brighter future' for humanity
- Military escalation not in Israel's 'best interest': White House
- Marxist leader declared Sri Lanka's president-elect
- Classes resume at Bangladesh university at heart of protests
- 'Barely anyone left': Sudan's El-Fasher devastated by fighting
- 'Warrior' Joshua vows to fight on despite Dubois mauling
- Martin extends MotoGP lead as Bastianini wins at Misano and Bagnaia crashes out
- New French government instantly under pressure on multiple fronts
- Australia's Brown adds world title to Olympic time trial gold
- Russian strike on Ukraine's Kharkiv wounds 21
- UK's Starmer rules out austerity as Labour conference opens
- Swiss voters reject environment, pensions reforms: projected results
- Israel says 'landed blows' on Hezbollah as Lebanon violence intensifies
- Roma CEO steps down amid anger over club icon De Rossi's sacking
Measles cases soar in Europe: WHO
Measles cases soared in Europe in 2023 to 42,200, a nearly 45-fold increase over the previous year, the UN health agency said on Tuesday, calling for urgent vaccination efforts to halt the spread.
Some 41 countries out of 53 the World Health Organization includes in its Europe region reported the infectious disease, WHO said. In 2022, 941 cases were registered.
Vaccination rates against the disease slipped during the Covid-19 pandemic and "urgent vaccination efforts are needed to halt transmission and prevent further spread".
Russia and Kazakhstan fared the worst, with 10,000 cases each from January to October last year. In Western Europe, Britain had the most cases with 183.
The WHO also said there were nearly 21,000 hospitalisations and five measles-related deaths in the Januaryu-October period. "This is concerning," WHO said.
Some 1.8 million infants in the WHO's Europe region were not vaccinated against measles between 2020 and 2022.
"It is vital that all countries are prepared to rapidly detect and timely respond to measles outbreaks, which could endanger progress towards measles elimination."
- Falling vaccinations -
Measles is caused by a virus and spreads easily when people breathe, cough or sneeze. It is most common in children, but can affect anyone.
Symptoms often include a rash, running nose, cough and watery eyes. Complications can be severe.
Measles vaccinations consist of two shots, usually one at nine months of age and the second at 15-18 months. The vaccine is often given along with one for mumps and rubella and known as MMR.
At least 95 percent of children need to be fully vaccinated against the disease in a locality to prevent outbreaks.
Vaccination rates against measles have been dropping across the globe.
In 2022, 83 percent of children received a first measles vaccine during their first year of life, up from 81-percent coverage in 2021, but down from 86 percent before the pandemic and the lowest level since 2008, WHO has said previously.
In 2022, only 92 percent of children in Europe received a second dose of the vaccine, according to WHO.
In Britain, in some areas around the major city of Birmingham the level of full vaccination has dropped to 81 percent.
In 2021, there were an estimated 128,000 measles deaths worldwide, mostly among under-vaccinated or unvaccinated children under five, it said.
WHO estimates that measles vaccines have helped prevent 56 million deaths between 2000 and 2021.
M.Thompson--AMWN