Measles elimination status lost by multiple countries
The UK is among a number of countries to have lost its measles elimination status, the World Health Organization (WHO) has confirmed, following a jump in infections across Europe. It joins Spain, Austria, Armenia, Azerbaijan, and Uzbekistan who have also lost their status and the WHO is calling on countries to increase vaccination rates, especially among under-protected populations, to prevent the disease from infecting more children.
Measles is a preventable but contagious disease. This makes it among the first diseases to rebound when vaccination rates fall. Its symptoms can include a high fever and rash. But it can also result in longer-term complications and, in some cases, even death.
Rising outbreaks worldwide reveal a resurgence of other preventable illnesses, health experts warn. This, they say, is largely due to an increase in scepticism of vaccines following the COVID-19 pandemic.
“The UK’s change of status reflects a broader challenge we’re facing across the WHO European Region,” the WHO said on its website. A number of other European countries already see regular measles transmission including France and Romania, the WHO says.
Canada had already lost its measles elimination status in 2025 and the USA is hoping to regain its status as infections increase.
WHO committees in every region determine whether a nation is free from the disease using case rates. A country must have had no locally transmitted cases of the same strain for at least a year to be declared measles-free by the organisation.
Vaccination rates must exceed 95% to keep the disease at bay, according to the WHO. But in the UK, only 84.4% of children have been given the two doses required for full protection in 2024. Government data has revealed that there were 2,911 confirmed cases in 2024, the highest since 2012. The UK received measles elimination status in 2016, losing it in 2018, and regaining it in 2021.
The UK Health Agency has said that every child should be vaccinated to be protected from the disease.
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