By Athanasios Tsakris, professor of Microbiology at the School of Medicine of the Greek Academy of Sciences

COVID and the flu remain at the forefront of the news, but measles cases in many European and American countries have also shown an alarming rise in recent weeks. The example of Britain, where in the last quarter the cases have far exceeded 100, is typical, but also of the USA, where from the New Year until today, around 20 people have fallen ill, while in 2023 the total number of cases was only 48 .

What accounts for this rise? In incomplete vaccination. On the one hand, there are the obstacles posed by the pandemic: in the US alone, more than 61 million doses of the measles vaccine were not administered from 2020 to 2022. And on the other, there is intense vaccination fatigue among citizens around the world, the which also involves other vaccines, not only of COVID-19. Incomplete vaccination is unfortunately also observed in our country. According to the latest figures from the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control: while the coverage for the first dose ranges from 95% to 99%, for the second and absolutely necessary for immunization against the virus, the percentage falls below 89% . The same is happening in France, Italy, Bulgaria, Estonia, Romania.

Measles, however, should not be underestimated. It is a serious infection, with a high rate of serious complications (10-30%), ranging from otitis media, pneumonia and transient hepatitis to severe encephalitis. 40% of sick children require hospitalization. Also, due to its easy transmission (with droplets from coughing or sneezing, or through contact with surfaces contaminated with patient secretions) and its very high transmissibility, which reaches 90% (that is, 90% of people who do not are immune and come into contact with a sick person will manifest the disease) can easily cause an epidemic outbreak, when the vaccination coverage levels of the population fall even a little.

Vaccination, therefore, is not only important to protect ourselves, it is also our obligation towards society. Parents should make sure that their children have been given the required two doses: the first dose after twelve months of age, followed by the second after at least four weeks. But adults, who have not been vaccinated or have been partially vaccinated and have not been ill, must also be vaccinated, with the second dose being given four weeks after the first.

The “awakening” of measles is a very big threat to public health. But we can prevent it. Before the discovery and widespread use of the vaccine in 1980, approximately 2.5 million people died each year from complications of the disease. This victory of Medicine must in no way be annulled…