AMARILLO, Texas (KAMR/KCIT) — According to a new report from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and World Health Organization, measles cases in 2022 have increased by 18%, and deaths have increased by 43% globally (compared to 2021). This takes the estimated number of measles cases to 9 million and deaths to 136,000 – mostly among children – according to a new report from the WHO and the CDC.

According to health officials, in 2022, 37 countries experienced large or disruptive outbreaks compared with 22 countries in 2021. Of the countries experiencing outbreaks, 28 were in the WHO Region for Africa, six in the Eastern Mediterranean, two in Southeast Asia, and one in the European Region.

“The increase in measles outbreaks and deaths is staggering, but unfortunately, not unexpected given the declining vaccination rates we’ve seen in the past few years,” said John Vertefeuille, director of CDC’s Global Immunization Division. “Measles cases anywhere pose a risk to all countries and communities where people are under-vaccinated. Urgent, targeted efforts are critical to prevent measles disease and deaths.”

The CDC stated that measles is preventable with two doses of measles vaccine. However, health officials said measles continues to pose an increasing threat to children, with 33 million children who missed a measles vaccine dose: nearly 22 million missed their first dose, and an additional 11 million missed their second dose.

According to health officials, the global vaccine coverage rate of the first dose, at 83%, and the second dose, at 74%, were still well under the 95% coverage with the two doses necessary to protect communities from outbreaks.

Health officials also mentioned that low-income countries, where the risk of death from measles is highest, continue to have the lowest vaccination rates at only 66%; a rate that shows no recovery at all from the backsliding during the pandemic. Of the 22 million children who missed their first measles vaccine in 2022, over half live in just 10 countries: Angola, Brazil, the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, India, Indonesia, Madagascar, Nigeria, Pakistan, and the Philippines.

“The lack of recovery in measles vaccine coverage in low-income countries following the pandemic is an alarm bell for action. Measles is called the inequity virus for good reason. It is the disease that will find and attack those who aren’t protected,” said Kate O’Brien, WHO Director for Immunization, Vaccine and Biologicals. “Children everywhere have the right to be protected by the lifesaving measles vaccine, no matter where they live.”

The CDC and WHO urge countries to vaccinate all children against measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases and encourage global stakeholders to aid countries in vaccinating their most vulnerable communities.

In addition, to help prevent outbreaks, CDC officials stated, “All global health partners at the global, regional, national, and local levels must invest in robust surveillance systems and outbreak response capacity to rapidly detect and respond to outbreaks.”