Measles and whooping cough are on the rise in Europe and Italy is no exception. The data published by the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) on the occasion of the European Immunization Week, as well as those collected by the ISS for Italy, show an increase in infections and a decrease in vaccinations in every age group : these infections can thus circulate, leaving fragile subjects exposed in a context where community immunity – guaranteed by wide vaccination coverage – does not materialise.
Measles, whooping cough and other preventable diseases: a week to remember the importance of vaccines
at Emanuela Pasi
“Get vaccinated for all preventable diseases”
For this reason, the Italian Society of General Practitioners and Primary Care Doctors (SIMG) joins the Italian Society of Paediatrics in calling for the vaccination of children for all vaccine-preventable diseases and adds that it is essential for adults to comply with the necessary reminders. Measles cases – recalls a note from Simg – have increased 60 times in the WHO European region; according to the ECD, they have been increasing in several EU countries since 2023.
Cases and deaths in Italy
Between March 2023 and the end of February 2024, at least 5,770 cases of measles were reported, with at least 5 deaths. In Italy from 1 January to 31 March 2024, 213 cases of measles were notified (34 in January, 93 in February, 86 in March). 88% were unvaccinated at the time of infection. 56 cases (26.3%) reported at least one complication, including 23 cases of pneumonia and one case of encephalitis in a young, unvaccinated adult.
The highest risk
The highest risk is for children under one year old, who are too young to be vaccinated, and for fragile immunocompromised individuals who cannot receive the vaccine. These populations should be protected by community immunity: measles spreads very easily, so vaccination coverage of at least 95% of the population is essential to interrupt transmission.
Vaccination: protection also for the immunosuppressed
Furthermore, since mid-2023, as the ECDC points out, an increase in whooping cough cases has also been reported in several EU countries, with preliminary data indicating cases more than tenfold in 2023 and 2024 compared to 2022 and 2021. “The worrying numbers relating to the spread of measles and whooping cough”, explains Alessandro Rossi, president of Simg, “lead us to strongly recommend the relevant vaccinations not only for children, for whom there are appointments in the vaccination calendar, but also for adults who are not covered or who need a booster shot. Vaccination, in fact, is not only an individual protection, but also concerns subjects who cannot receive it due to immunocompromised problems and are at risk of contracting measles and suffering serious, sometimes lethal, consequences. , just as is happening.”
Measles vaccination booster
The booster vaccination against measles “is indicated for healthcare personnel, for fragile patients, for women planning a pregnancy”, underlines Rossi. “As regards whooping cough, every ten years the adult must undergo the administration of a triple dose of vaccine against diphtheria-tetanus-pertussis. In addition to tetanus, which causes some deaths every year, it is necessary to protect ourselves against whooping cough, which causes serious risks especially for newborns, heart patients, those with serious respiratory diseases and diabetics”. The risk “is also to confuse the pathology with a prolonged cough, underestimating the dangerous consequences”, she concludes.
The epidemic in England
In England, meanwhile, there is still a measles epidemic. In the last week, 103 new infections occurred, for a total of 1,212 laboratory-confirmed cases of measles since October 1, 2023. Data from the latest bulletin from the United Kingdom Agency for Health Security shows the spread of infections in these recent months: 17 cases were reported in October, 41 in November, 153 in December, 274 in January, 263 in February, 307 in March and 157 so far in April. 26.4% (320 out of 1,212) of cases were recorded in London. The majority (776 out of 1,212, 64.0%) concern children under 10 years of age and 28.8% (349) concern young people over 15 years of age and adults.
The spread from Birmingham
In a month, from March 25 – the agency highlights – there were 220 new confirmed cases, an increase compared to the 191 reported from March 18 to April 18 in the previous bulletin. The highest number was reported from London (94, 42.7%), but all regions had confirmed cases. The rapid increase seen in late 2023 is linked initially to a large outbreak in Birmingham, where the spread appears to have stabilized while recent weeks have seen growth in cases in London and smaller clusters ongoing in other regions.
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– 2024-04-28 05:44:56
