LONDON — The number of children sickened by measles in 2019 was the highest in 23 years, according to new data published by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
In a study published on Thursday, WHO and CDC said there were nearly 870,000 cases of measles last year, and the number of deaths — about 207,500 — increased by almost 50 percent since 2016. Officials blamed the record number of cases on a significant drop in vaccination; children must receive two doses of the measles vaccine to avoid being sickened by the highly contagious disease.
“These data send a clear message that we are failing to protect children from measles in every region of the world,” said WHO director-general Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus in a statement.
To prevent measles outbreaks, WHO estimates about 95 percent of the population must be immunized. Vaccination coverage using two measles vaccines has stalled between about 70 percent and 85 percent globally.