Measles deaths spike more than 40%, CDC and WHO say
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Key takeaways:
- There were roughly 9 million cases of measles globally in 2022, including 136,000 deaths.
- Nearly 33 million children missed a measles vaccine dose, continuing a years-long trend.
Measles cases rose globally by nearly 20% in 2022, and measles deaths increased by almost half, according to data published Thursday in MMWR by the CDC and WHO.
According to the report, 37 countries experienced large or disruptive measles outbreaks last year — 12 more than in 2021 — and nearly 33 million children missed a measles vaccine dose, continuing a years-long trend.
Measles cases and deaths have been increasing in recent years, hitting a 23-year high in 2019 at 207,000 cases. Although cases decreased globally in 2020, delays in infant vaccination after the start of the COVID-19 pandemic meant 22 million fewer infants received first vaccine doses.
The decrease in infant measles vaccination continued in 2021, with nearly 40 million children worldwide missing their first or second vaccine dose, which was a new record and led to the lowest measles vaccine coverage since 2008.
“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,” John Vertefeuille, PhD, MHS, director of the CDC’s Global Immunization Division, said in a press release. “Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths.”
According to the new report, there were an estimated 9 million measles cases and 136,000 measles deaths in 2022, most of which occurred among children — an 18% and 43% increase, respectively, compared with 2021.
In all, 22 million children missed a first measles vaccine dose last year and another 11 million missed the second dose. The global vaccine coverage rate of the first dose was 83% and the coverage rate for the second dose was 74%. Vaccine coverage increased in all global regions except for the Americas and the European region, and coverage remained below 2019 levels in all global regions except for the Eastern Mediterranean region.
Low-income countries have shown little recovery to their vaccine programs, according to the report. More than half of children who missed a first dose in 2022 living in 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan and the Philippines.
Measles incidence may have declined in 2020 and 2021 because of reduced virus transmission due to COVID-19 mitigation measures, surveillance disruptions and potentially from immunity acquired during outbreaks from 2017 to 2019, according to the report.
Rising rates of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases in the last 3 years led WHO to launch an immunization recovery plan in April aimed at reestablishing routine vaccination programs and improving their coverage globally — including in richer countries like the United Kingdom, as well as middle-income countries like Russia and South Africa.
Kate O’Brien, MD, MPH, director of WHO’s Department of Immunization, Vaccines and Biologicals, said in a statement that declining vaccination rates are a concern beyond measles and that measles tends to resurface first because of how contagious it is.
“Declining vaccination rates set the stage for other serious vaccine-preventable diseases to reemerge,” O’Brien said. “Measles outbreaks serve as a warning sign for potential outbreaks of severe illnesses such as whooping cough, diphtheria or polio.”
References:
- Global measles threat continues to grow as another year passes with millions of children unvaccinated. https://www.cdc.gov/media/releases/2023/p1116-global-measles.html. Published Nov. 16, 2023. Accessed Nov. 16, 2023.
- Minta AA, et al. MMWR Morb Mortal Wkly Rep. 2023;10.15585/mmwr.mm7246a3.
- WHO. Message by the director of the department of immunization, vaccination and biologicals at WHO — October 2023. https://www.who.int/news/item/16-11-2023-message-by-the-director-of-the-department-of-immunization--vaccines-and-biologicals-at-who---october-2023. Published Nov. 16, 2023. Accessed Nov. 16, 2023.
- WHO. The big catch-up: An essential immunization recovery plan for 2023 and beyond. https://www.who.int/publications/i/item/9789240075511. Published July 26, 2023. Accessed Nov. 16, 2023.
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