‘Staggering’ rise in global measles cases last year, say leading health organizations – CBC
Cases up by 18% to about 9 million, and deaths to 136,000 — mostly among children
Nov 16, 2023
There was a “staggering” annual rise in measles cases and deaths in 2022, according to a new report from the World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).
Cases jumped by 18 per cent to an estimated nine million, and deaths rose to 136,000 — mostly among children — the health agencies said in a joint statement on Thursday.
There were large or disruptive outbreaks in 37 countries last year, the majority in Africa, compared with 22 in 2021.
“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we’ve seen in the past few years,” said John Vertefeuille, director of the CDC’s global immunization division.
