Vaccinating children who missed their measles shots during the Covid pandemic is critical, a senior World Health Organisation official has said, as outbreaks of the infectious disease increase worldwide.
More than 50 countries have experienced "large and disruptive" measles outbreaks in the last year, twice as many as in 2022, WHO's director of immunisation Kate O'Brien said.
The WHO warning comes as the HSE has begun a catch-up vaccination programme following an increase in reported cases of measles in the State, similar to what is also being noted across mainland Europe and the UK.
Measles is a very contagious viral illness that causes flu-like symptoms and a rash. It can be fatal but is preventable with two doses of the MMR vaccine.
The Covid pandemic massively disrupted routine vaccination efforts worldwide, and around 60 million children missed their doses over that period, Ms O'Brien said, adding that catch-up efforts are "really critical".
"It's now a race between whether the catch-up activities can happen quickly enough or whether the outbreaks will continue to scale."
-Reuters
