Section:GDN 1N PaGe:24 Edition Date:190829 Edition:01 Zone: Sent at 28/8/2019 20:42 cYanmaGentaYellowb
- The Guardian Thursday 29 Aug ust 2019
(^24) National
Sharp rise in cases of
measles in Europe
‘putting lives at risk’
Nicola Davis
The dramatic surge in measles across
Europe is putting lives at risk, experts
have said, as offi cial fi gures show the
number of cases in the fi rst half of
2019 outstripped that for the whole
of last year.
Data released by the World Health
Organi zation (WHO) revealed nearly
90,000 cases and 37 deaths were
reported across 48 of the 53 countries
in the WHO European region in the
fi rst six months of 2019.
There were 84,462 cases in the
region in the whole of 2018, with
44,175 by the end of June that year.
In 2016 there were only 5,273 cases.
Ukraine appears to be particularly
aff ected, with more than 54,000 cases
and 18 deaths in the fi rst six months
of 2019.
There are other signs that progress
on measles has deteriorated. Early this
month the UK lost its “measles-free”
status , which Public Health England
said was down to the recent increase
in cases and the lengthy presence of
one particular strain.
In the fi rst six months of 2019, 489
cases of measles were reported in the
UK, 69 of which have been confi rmed
as imported from abroad.
The new report adds that three
other countries – Albania, the Czech
Republic and Greece – have had their
measles elimination status removed.
“Re-establishment of measles
transmission is concerning,” said Dr
Günter Pfaff , the chair of the European
Regional Verifi cation Commission
for Measles and Rubella Elimination
(RVC), which produced the report.
“If high immunisation coverage is
not achieved and sustained in every
community, both children and adults
will suff er unnecessarily and some will
tragically die.”
Andrew Pollard , a professor of
paediatric infection and immunity
at Oxford University, said the report
was a wake-up call for Europe. “ The
loss of our status tells us that we have
lost control of immunisation against
measles,” he said, although he added
that the situation was salvageable and
not as bad as it was in the 1960s, before
a measles vaccine was available.
Prof Martin Marshall , chair of the
Royal College of GPs, decried the lat-
est fi gures. “It is disheartening to see
these fi ndings at a time when we and
other countries across Europe were on
the way towards completely eradicat-
ing measles, a potentially deadly but
entirely preventable disease,” he said.
Some children – for example those
who have cancer or immune-system
problems – cannot be vaccinated. To
protect them and produce so-called
“herd immunity”, 95% of the popu-
lation needs to be immunised.
“We talk a lot about the unvacci-
nated and the people not taking the
vaccine, and the risks to them and to
their children, but actually the biggest
risks are in those who can’t be vacci-
nated,” said Pollard. “
According to the latest statistics ,
covering 2017 -18, just 87.2% of chil-
dren in England had both doses of the
MMR vaccine by their fi fth birthday, a
fall from 87.6% the year before.
The WHO has revealed it is devel-
oping a strategic response plan for the
whole region, as well as focusing on
specifi c countries including Ukraine.
Since May it has classed measles in
Europe as a grade 2 emergency.
A nurse giving the MMR vaccine
to a one-year-old in Kyiv as Ukraine
strugg les with a measles outbreak
PHOTOGRAPH: BRENDAN HOFFMAN/GETTY
RSPB: one conviction after
87 suspected bird crimes
Patrick Barkham
Birds of prey were shot, poisoned,
trapped or illegally killed in 87 con-
fi rmed incidents in 2018 that led to just
one successful conviction, according
to the RSPB’s annual Birdcrime report.
This persecution of raptors includ-
ing peregrines, buzzards, red kites and
owls is the tip of the iceberg, with
many more birds vanishing in mys-
terious circumstances, according to
data from satellite-tagged birds and
other intelligence.
According to the report, 77% of
the incidents took place in England.
There were particular hotspots of
illegal persecution in the Peak District,
North Yorkshire and southern Scot-
land. Incidents were mostly recorded
Source: WTO. Note: 2019 data is for January to June
More measles cases reported in
Europe for the first half of 2019
than for all of the previous year
Reported cases, thousands
0
20
40
60
80
2016 2017 2018 2019
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