Nigeria, nine others at high risk of measles outbreak, WHO warns

The World Health Organization (WHO) and the U.S. Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) have warned that the risk of measles outbreaks is mounting, as over 22.3 million infants missed their first dose of the vaccine due to the COVID-19 in 2020.

“The Ten countries with the highest numbers of infants not receiving Measles- Containing Vaccine (MCV1) in 2020 were Nigeria (3.3 million), India (2.6 million), the Democratic Republic of the Congo (1.5 million), Ethiopia (1.4 million), Indonesia (1.1 million), Pakistan (1.0 million),” the report read.

Others are Angola, the Philippines, Brazil, and Afghanistan all below one million infants.

The report disclosed that the number of unvaccinated children is the largest in 20 years, adding that critical gaps in disease surveillance increase the risk of measles outbreaks.

Reported measles cases fell by more than 80 percent in the 2020 year compared with 2019, and about 3 million more children missed the vaccines in 2020 than the previous year, threatening global efforts to eradicate the viral disease.

Only 70 percent of kids received their second dose last year, which is well below the 95 percent threshold needed to protect communities, the report added.

The report noted that vaccination campaigns in 23 countries, originally planned for 2020, were postponed because of the COVID-19 pandemic – leaving more than 93 million people at risk for the disease.