Ukraine Records More Than 70% Of Europe Measles Cases In 2019 – World Health Organization

Health statistics for January and February of 2019 show more than 25,000 cases of measles in Ukraine, more than the combined toll in 53 other European nations, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Monday

WASHINGTON (UrduPoint News / Sputnik –  ) Health statistics for January and February of 2019 show more than 25,000 cases of measles in Ukraine, more than the combined toll in 53 other European nations, the UN World Health Organization (WHO) said in a report on Monday.

“In the first two months of 2019, 34,300 measles cases have been reported in 42 countries of the WHO European Region, including 13 measles-related deaths in three countries (Albania, Romaniaand Ukraine),” the release said.

“The majority of cases are reported in Ukraine, with more than 25,000 cases (>70%).”

Prior to the latest outbreak, which the WHO blamed on low vaccination rates among some groups, 37 of 53 countries in the WHO European region had reported eliminating measles.

Measles remains endemic in ten European countries: Belgium, Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Romania, Russian Federation, Serbia and Ukraine. Recently, Macedonia has also reported an outbreak of measles