Measles epidemic in Romania is already claiming the 35th death toll

Spread of measles in several Balkan countries

Measles are a highly contagious infectious disease that affects children most often. The disease leads to the typical red spots on the skin and fever. In some cases, however, the effects are much more dangerous. It causes severe health complications, which can even lead to the death of the patient. In Romania, there is currently a true measles epidemic, which has already led to 35 deaths.

The National Institute of Health in Bucharest announced on Friday that a 39-year-old woman from Transylvania's Brasov had died from the effects of measles. Thus, deaths from a measles infection in Romania have risen to 35 since August 2016. Most of the people killed by the infectious disease were small children. Often, those affected were not even one year old. According to experts, the number of reported illnesses is now 9670 cases. The World Health Organization (WHO) has already warned in a press release that measles is spreading in Europe.

Measles most often affect young children and infants. Thanks to vaccinations, there are not many cases of measles in Europe today. In Romania, however, a true measles epidemic can now be observed. (Andrianao_cz / fotolia.com)

Religiously motivated vaccination campaigns make it difficult to combat the infection

Bottlenecks in the supply of vaccines seem to be a problem in controlling the measles epidemic. Another big problem blamed by the health authorities for the epidemic in Romania is religiously motivated vaccination campaigns. This critical stance against vaccination makes it much harder to fight the highly contagious infectious disease.

Kosovo also had a measles death

But Romania is not the only country that is affected by the measles. Apart from Romania, other regions in the Balkans are currently affected by the measles. For the first time in about 20 years, there are also cases of maser infections in Kosovo. In the capital of Kosovo, Pristina (at the same time the largest city in the country, with more than 200,000 inhabitants), 140 measles infections have been detected in recent weeks alone. There was also a measles death, and a teenage girl died as a result of the infectious disease.

In Germany, one person has already died of the measles this year

In Montenegro, a direct neighbor of Kosovo, doctors and authorities now also fear an outbreak of the infectious disease. The vaccination rate in children fell sharply there. Instead of the previous 95 percent, now only about 65 percent of the children are vaccinated. One might now think that the infections only affect countries in Southeastern Europe. But in Germany too, the number of measles cases is increasing.

The populous state of North Rhine-Westphalia is particularly affected by the infectious disease. And there was already a death in this country by the measles this year. In Essen, a 37-year-old woman died from measles. The mother of three from Essen was evidently not adequately vaccinated against the dangerous infectious disease.

WHO is working on eradicating measles worldwide

The World Health Organization (WHO) has been working for a long time on a worldwide eradication of dangerous infectious disease. The use of vaccinations has significantly reduced the infection rate in most countries. In countries and regions with a high rate of vaccination, measles are now almost completely eradicated. (As)