SHOCKING figures reveal the number of measles cases around the world has quadrupled in the past year, the World Health Organisation (WHO) has confirmed.
Preliminary data released from the global health agency shows the number of outbreaks has soared by 300 percent in the first three months of 2019 compared to the same period last year. Initial figures show the extent of the health crisis, with 112,163 reported cases of the disease already this year across 170 countries, compared to just 28,124 cases across 163 countries in 2018. In a statement the WHO said: “While this data is provisional and not yet complete, it indicates a clear trend.”
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It added: “‘Many countries are in the midst of sizable measles outbreaks, with all regions of the world experiencing sustained rises in cases.”
Measles can be extremely dangerous if untreated and official figures show it claimed the lives of almost 110,000 people in 2017.
The most concerning aspect of the resurgence of the virus, is it has spread into countries with the highest vaccination rates, including the US.
The number of cases of measles has grown by 300 percent in 2019 (Image: GETTY)
The WHO said: “Spikes in case numbers have also occurred in countries with high overall vaccination coverage, including the United States of America as well as Israel, Thailand, and Tunisia, as the disease has spread fast among clusters of unvaccinated people.”
Meanwhile Africa has witnessed the most dramatic rise up 700 percent on the previous year.
Across the African continent the number of cases grew from 7,361 in the first quarter of 2018 to 59,943 in the first three months of 2019 .
However the world body stated the numbers may be even be far greater, since only one in 10 cases globally are reported.
In the UK the number of cases has indeed fallen, there has been 572 infections this year, compared to 767 in the same period in 2018, according the figures by Public Health England.
The outbreak of measles can be prevented using the MMR vaccine which was first introduced in 1963.
The MMR vaccine was introduced in 1963 (Image: GETTY)
In the UK the treatment is given to all children when they are one-years-old and then again when they are three-years-old.
The UN insist the deadly disease is “entirely preventable” with the right vaccines, however it is concerned that global immunization has “stalled” at 85 percent which is “still short of the 95% needed to prevent outbreaks”.
