News: Health- Measles kills 35 people in Europe as disease spreads through un-vaccinated children, warns WHO

There were 35 deaths caused by measles in European countries in the last year – an “unacceptable tragedy”, according to the World Health Organisation (WHO).

Despite the availability of a safe, effective vaccination, measles outbreaks are continuing to spread across Europe, warned the agency.

The majority of fatalities were in Romania, where 31 people have died after catching the infectious disease, which causes sore eyes, rashes and cold-like symptoms and can lead to serious complications such as ear infections, pneumonia, and deafness.

Since June 2016, there have also been two measles-related deaths in Italy, including the most recent victim of the disease, a six-year-old boy, while local health authorities in Germany and Portugal have each reported one fatality.

Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, the WHO’s regional director for Europe, said “every death or disability caused by this vaccine-preventable disease is an unacceptable tragedy”.

“We are very concerned that although a safe, effective and affordable vaccine is available, measles remains a leading cause of death among children worldwide, and unfortunately Europe is not spared.

“Working closely with health authorities in all European affected countries is our priority to control the outbreaks and maintain high vaccination coverage for all sections of the population.”

French Prime Minister Édouard Philippe announced last week that parents in France will be legally obliged to vaccinate their children from 2018.

He said it was “unacceptable” that children are “still dying of measles” in the country where some of the earliest vaccines were pioneered.

All the vaccines which are universally recommended by health authorities – 11 in total – will now be compulsory in France.

The move follows a similar initiative in Italy, which recently banned non-vaccinated children from attending state schools.

Anti-vaccine movements, whose followers are known as anti-vaxxers, are believed to have contributed to low rates of immunisation against the highly contagious disease in a number of countries.

In 1998, the British doctor Andrew Wakefield published a controversial and since-discredited study in The Lancet, which purported to show a link between the MMR vaccine – for measles, mumps and rubella – and autism in children.

Exhaustive scientific research, including a comprehensive 2014 review using data from more than 1.2 million children, have since concluded that no relationship between vaccination and autism.

Dr Wakefield was struck off the medical register after his report was found to be fraudulent.

However, many parents still choose not to vaccinate their children, with around 24,000 children in England each year at risk of measles, mumps and rubella because they have not been immunised against the diseases, according to Public Health England.

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