Unicef ​​alarmed by the resurgence of measles, with Brazil in the lead

Unicef ​​warned on Friday of the resurgence of measles in the world and noted that ten countries, including Brazil, Ukraine and France, accounted for approximately three quarters of the total case increase in 2018.

Worldwide, 98 countries reported more measles cases in 2018 than in 2017, which hinders progress in treating this highly preventable but potentially fatal disease, the United Nations Children's Fund said in a statement.

"It's a wake-up call, we have a safe, effective and affordable vaccine against a highly contagious disease, a vaccine that has saved almost a million lives every year for the last two decades," said Henrietta Fore, Unicef's executive director.

Ukraine, the Philippines and Brazil experienced the highest annual increase in cases.

In 2018, 35,120 cases were reported in Ukraine, about 30,000 more than in 2017.

And according to the government, 24,042 people were infected in the first two months of 2019.

In Brazil, 10,262 cases were recorded in 2018, for none in the previous year.

In France, the increase between 2017 and 2018 was 2,269, according to Unicef.

Lack of health infrastructure, civil unrest, low community awareness, complacency and reluctance to vaccinate have triggered these epidemics in developed and developing countries, the agency said.

O World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned of an outbreak of measles in the world, with a jump of about 50% of cases registered last year compared to 2017, killing 136,000 people.

The increase in this disease, which is more contagious than influenza or tuberculosis, is linked in some countries to non-medical claims linking measles vaccine (MMR vaccine) to autism and which are disseminated in part in social networks. by members of the so-called "anti-vaccines" movement.

Last month, the WHO He called "vaccine doubts" one of the top 10 global health threats in 2019.

However, WHO He recently recalled that "the main reason" for failure in child immunization is that "those who need it most … do not have access to the vaccine." AFP