Measles, spike in cases and complications in 2024: what’s happening

In Italy, in 2024, there is a boom in measles cases, with even serious complications in a third of those infected. A trend linked to a decline in vaccination coverage above 2 years of age. This is revealed in the Vaccine Report 2022 published by the Italian Medicines Agency Aifa.

Measles – the report recalls – is the pathology that worries the most because, in addition to being the most contagious disease in the world, it can also cause serious complications. Encephalitis, in particular, can be fatal in 15% of cases and in 40% it can cause permanent damage such as mental retardation, epilepsy, deafness. According to the latest available data, during the first 3 months of 2024, 56,634 cases of measles and 4 deaths were officially reported in 45 of the 53 countries of the European region of the World Health Organization. In 2023, the infections recorded were just over 61,070, and 13 deaths, reported by 41 countries. As for Italy, in 2023, 43 cases of measles were recorded, but in 2024 there is a rapid growth, with already 717 cases in the first 6 months of the year. 32.8% developed at least one complication, including 91 cases of pneumonia and one of encephalitis.

In our country, vaccination coverage for measles stood at 92% of the population in 2022 for the first dose and 86% for the second, down 1% and 3% respectively compared to 2018. The data as of June 20, 2023 – highlights the AIFA – report a coverage of 94.4% in children under 24 months, very close to the 95% (in 2014 it was 87.2%) indicated as the safety threshold to reach the so-called herd immunity that no longer allows the virus to circulate. However, in subsequent courts lower coverage rates are found which explain the reason for the resurgence of infections.