BRUSSELS/FRANKFURT/PARIS (dpa-AFX) - The World Health Organization (WHO) has warned that Measles continues to spread within and among European countries, with the potential to cause large outbreaks wherever immunization coverage has dropped below the necessary threshold of 95 percent.
Over 500 measles cases were reported for January in the WHO European Region, WHO said on Tuesday.
The largest current measles outbreaks in Europe are taking place in Romania and Italy.
Romania has reported over 3400 cases and 17 deaths between January 2016 and 10 March 2017.
Italy has seen a sharp rise in cases in the first weeks of 2017. With 238 cases reported so far for January and preliminary information indicating at least as many cases for February, the total number of cases reported for 2016 may soon be surpassed.
Dr Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO Regional Director for Europe, urged all endemic countries to take urgent measures to stop transmission of measles within their borders, and all countries that have already achieved this to keep up their guard and sustain high immunization coverage.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can cause potentially serious illness. As measles remains endemic in most parts of the world, it can spread to any country, including those that have eliminated the disease.
Copyright RTT News/dpa-AFX