WHO cautions stalled progress in measles elimination

UNITED NATIONS (Xinhua) - The World Health Organization (WHO) warned that progress toward eliminating measles has stalled and the 2015 targets will not be met, Frahan Haq, the deputy UN spokesman, told reporters here Friday.

 The number of deaths from measles increased from an estimated 122,000 in 2012 to 145,700 last year, according to Haq, quoting data from WHO.

"The increase in the disease is in large part due to outbreaks in China, the Democratic Republic of the Congo and Nigeria," said Haq. "However, sizeable outbreaks were also reported in other parts of the world, including in the Eastern Mediterranean region in countries such as Georgia, Turkey and Ukraine, where weak health systems and conflict and population displacement have hampered vaccination efforts."

"The World Health Organization says that renewed high-level political commitment is needed to reverse this trend," he said.

Measles, a respiratory infection caused by Morbilliviruses, causes symptoms such as fever, coughing, runny nose and a rash and usually strikes children. It is a highly contagious, serious disease. Spring is the prime infection season. In 1980, before widespread vaccination, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths each year. The disease remains one of the leading causes of death among young children globally, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine.