Measles alert in the US, cases at their highest since 1992

From the United States to Europe, concern is growing over the rise in measles cases, a serious infectious disease that is primarily affecting unvaccinated people, starting with children. In the US, experts are talking about a veritable boom: according to the latest figures from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), reported cases number 1,288, the highest since 1992, and 162 people have been hospitalized this year, while three have died.

But European and Italian data are also alarming, with measles cases in Italy nearly doubling in May compared to April. In the US, a third of cases are concentrated in one Texas county. Experts say this trend is also influenced by the stance of US Secretary of Health Robert Kennedy, known for his criticism of vaccination policies. In Europe, the situation isn't much better: according to an analysis by the WHO and UNICEF, 127,350 cases were reported in the European Region in 2024, double the number in 2023 and the highest number since 1997. In Italy, according to the latest data from the Italian National Institute of Health (ISS), cases nearly doubled in May compared to the previous month: 65 compared to 37 in April.

This increase, states the ISS, "is a worrying figure as the summer and holiday seasons approach." Therefore, it is recommended to check your measles vaccination status before traveling abroad. Since the beginning of the year, 334 cases have been recorded (over 1,000 in 2024), and approximately 90% of those affected were unvaccinated. Children in particular need protection: the most affected age group remains those under five, who are also particularly vulnerable to complications. Regarding vaccination, the measles coverage rate for the cohort of children born in 2021 is 94.64%; the WHO recommended target for limiting the circulation of these pathogens is 95%. However, the below-threshold coverage rate remains for children aged 5, 6, and 8, and for adolescents aged 16 and 18. Furthermore, according to data from the Ministry of Health, measles vaccination coverage at 24 months shows wide variations between regions, ranging from 83.81% in Bolzano to 97.33% in Tuscany. A new study by researchers at the Burnet Institute in Australia, in collaboration with Gavi - the Vaccine Alliance, published this week in the British Medical Journal Global Health, also demonstrates the effectiveness of vaccines. The study estimates that between 2000 and 2023, the emergency vaccination response to cholera, Ebola, measles, meningitis, and yellow fever epidemics reduced deaths by an average of nearly 60% in low-income countries and generated at least $32 billion in economic benefits. "This study clearly demonstrates the power of vaccines as a cost-effective countermeasure to the growing risk of epidemics to which the world is exposed," commented Sania Nishtar, CEO of Gavi. In contrast, "American data," infectious disease specialist and scientific director of the Italian Society of Infectious and Tropical Diseases, Massimo Andreoni, told ANSA, "confirm that where vaccination rates fall below 95%, including booster vaccinations, since two doses are required for measles, dangerous epidemic outbreaks are more likely to develop. In Italy, too, there is an extremely worrying increase in cases, even though vaccination rates are reasonable but still not optimal. The recommendation is therefore to complete the vaccination cycle by also getting the booster dose, remembering that measles causes over 100,000 deaths worldwide every year." Measles, Andreoni concludes, "is therefore not a trivial disease as many think and can still be very dangerous, especially for young children."