World and US health officials have reportedly warned that Measles is threatening to resurface among children after following a record-breaking drop in vaccination rates during the pandemic.
As per a joint report from the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) and World Health Organization, about 40 million kids missed a dose of the measles vaccine in 2021. This increases the possibility of the extremely contagious respiratory virus returning to the United States and other nations where immunization campaigns have successfully eradicated it.
The research claimed that Measles has become an "imminent threat" across the globe as a result of declining disease surveillance and interruptions in immunization campaigns during the Covid-19 pandemic.
According to CDC data, the vaccination rate for US children under the age of two is now hanging at 90.4%, considerably below the 95% threshold required to ward off the disease.
CDC director Rochelle Walensky stated that the record number of children, who are under-immunized and vulnerable to measles shows the severe damage vaccination systems have received throughout the Covid-19 outbreak.
In the US, two doses of the measles vaccine, which also protects against mumps and rubella, are usually included in childhood vaccinations.
Campaigns succeeded in eliminating measles in the US in 2000 but imported cases from other countries where the virus is still present, cause periodic outbreaks. In 2018, an imported case set off a flare-up that ravaged a neighborhood of unvaccinated New Yorkers, ultimately infecting 649 individuals.
According to a separate study published in July, measles is now a risk for more than 13% of children in the US due to decreases in vaccination coverage during the pandemic, and the illness already seems to be slipping through coverage issues.
Multiple susceptible children together could re-ignite the measles outbreak in the US. The typical initial symptoms include cough, fever, watery eyes, and runny nose. In addition to these symptoms, little white spots inside the mouth begin to emerge, followed by a red, blotchy rash. Pneumonia may develop in severe situations.
Source credit: https://www.straitstimes.com/world/europe/measles-now-an-imminent-global-threat-due-to-pandemic-say-who-cdc