Already more than 1,000 measles cases in Berlin

Measles continue to spread in Berlin and Saxony

09/04/2015

The measles continue to spread. The current outbreak is one of the worst in ten years - and there is no end in sight. While measles are most common in childhood, many young adults are currently affected. In Berlin, the thousands limit was exceeded recently.

Number of measles cases continues to rise
The State Office of Public Health (LaGeSo) has registered 1,001 cases of measles since the outbreak last October until today. Since the beginning of the year alone, 880 people have been reported. About one in four patients had to be treated due to a severe course of threatening complications in the hospital.

The infectious disease is initially characterized by symptoms such as high fever, cough, runny nose and inflammation in the nose and throat. In addition, conjunctivitis of the eye often occurs. Just a few days later, the typical rash becomes noticeable, spreading from the face and behind the ears over the entire body. As the Federal Center for Health Education (BZgA) informs, the immune system is temporarily weakened by the disease, so that other pathogens could be warded off worse. As a result, complications would easily occur, such as otitis media and respiratory or pneumonia.

Nearly 1,500 measles cases nationwide
According to the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), a total of 1,465 measles cases were registered in Germany by the Easter weekend. In addition to Berlin, the main focus of the current outbreak, another measles stronghold in Saxony is developing. There are more than 150 people ill until Easter.

According to experts, the current measles outbreak is among the worst in the past decade. The cause of the high number of cases they see in addition to ignorance in the population, especially in the lack of vaccine protection of many young adults.

„Measles often peak in the early summer months, "said a RKI scientist „Frankfurter Allgemeine Zeitung. "The reasons for this are not known, however, and the number of cases could possibly decline thereafter.