The World Health Organisation (WHO) has issued an urgent warning over the virus, with more than 125,000 cases reported

Experts have sounded the alarm over a virus that has returned to levels not seen since 1997. The World Health Organisation has issued an urgent warning over the virus, which presents itself in a number of everyday symptoms.

A fever, cough, runny nose and a rash could all be signs of the illness. Measles is especially prevalent in children and it can develop into pneumonia, encephalitis, deyhdration and blindness. The WHO is especially concered as the rise of cases in 2024 is double that of the previous year.

More than 125,000 cases were reported last year, as incidents spread throughout Europe and Asia. The outbreak has seen half of those infected hospitalised.

Around 40 per cent of those who fell ill were children aged under five. According to the Mirror, the measles vaccine is 97% effective at stopping infection.

Dr Han Kluge, WHO’s Europe director, declared: “Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.”

In the UK alone, more than 200 measles cases have been reported. Dr Doug Brown, Chief Executive of the British Society for Immunology, expressed deep concern, reports Bristol Live.

He said: “It is extremely worrying to see such high numbers of measles cases across the European Region. Measles is a very nasty disease that causes serious illness, including hospitalisation and, in extreme situations, death.

“In recent outbreaks in England, one in five children who caught measles were hospitalised. The measles virus is highly contagious and spreads easily from person-to-person.

“The good news is that in the UK we have access to a safe and effective vaccine – the MMR vaccine – that provides long-term protection against measles. However, as measles is so infectious, uptake of this vaccine needs to be very high, at 95%, to stop the disease circulating within our communities.

“We have long known that vaccine uptake rates for the MMR vaccine in both the UK and Europe are lower than this required level. For example, in England in 2023-24, only 83.9% of children had received both doses of the MMR vaccine by the required timepoint.”

Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, from the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, commented to say: “Measles cases across the UK are rising, as we’re also seeing across other parts of Europe, Central Asia and through new outbreaks in the US measles is extremely infectious. Before routine vaccination began, England and Wales saw large outbreaks with peaks of 600,000 cases in some years.

“Vaccination programmes in the UK and globally have been so successful that it can be easy to forget why we still need them and many people may not have a memory of the consequences of infections like measles. Public health must constantly engage with families and communities through outreach, but that can be difficult when resources are increasingly stretched.

“But the costs of reducing public health outreach speak for themselves, and history tells us that even a small decline in vaccine uptake can have devastating consequences. In 2024 there were 2,911 laboratory confirmed measles cases in England, the highest number of cases recorded annually since 2012.

“The majority of measles cases we’re seeing in the UK and elsewhere are in young children and predominantly among those who are unvaccinated. Being vaccinated is the best way to protect you, your child, your family and people who aren’t able to get the vaccine like young babies, from getting sick with measles or spreading it to other people.

“It’s never too late to get vaccinated. If you have questions, don’t know whether you’ve already had a vaccine or want to find out where to get a vaccine, the best advice is to talk to your GP.”