Once considered a largely eradicated disease, measles is experiencing a important resurgence across europe, prompting renewed concern from global health organizations. Recent data indicates several countries have re-established endemic transmission in 2024, with case numbers climbing sharply into 2025, particularly among young children. the World Health Association attributes this troubling trend to declining vaccination rates and warns of the potential for wider outbreaks if preventative measures are not urgently reinforced.
Measles is not a disease of the past, and cases are increasing across Europe as several countries fail to meet vaccination goals. This resurgence highlights the critical importance of maintaining high vaccination rates to protect public health.
The World Health Organization (WHO) announced on Monday, June 10, 2024, that Armenia, Austria, Azerbaijan, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uzbekistan have all re-established endemic measles transmission based on case numbers in 2024.
A country loses its measles-elimination status if the virus returns and sustains continuous transmission for more than a year.
“By strengthening surveillance, improving outbreak response, and making focused efforts to reach communities with low vaccination coverage, all countries can achieve and sustain measles elimination,” said Dr. Bhanu Bhatnagar, a spokesperson for WHO Europe, to Euronews Health.
The international agency warns that measles is often the first disease to reappear when vaccination rates decline, underscoring the urgent need for greater political and financial commitment from nations and international organizations.
New Countries Report Outbreaks
In 2024, England recorded 2,911 laboratory-confirmed measles cases, the highest annual total since 2012.
The latest 2025 data indicates 957 cases, with the majority occurring in children aged ten years and under.
“Continued gaps in immunity have led to the re-establishment of measles and other vaccine-preventable diseases across the region in 2024, and to a decrease in the number of countries that have achieved or maintained measles elimination status,” Bhatnagar said.
Spain is also seeing a year-over-year increase in cases. According to government data, the country has reported approximately 400 cases in 2025, double the number from 2024 and a sharp increase compared to 11 cases in 2023.
Austria also experienced a surge in measles cases in 2024, with health authorities reporting 542 cases, a significant increase from 186 cases the previous year.
Endemic in Europe
The situation is no better in other parts of Europe.
A total of 35,212 measles cases were reported across the European Union in 2024, a tenfold increase compared to the previous year, according to data from the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
Infants under one year of age were the most affected, followed by children between one and four years old.
Measles is currently endemic in 12 countries: Bosnia and Herzegovina, France, Georgia, Germany, Italy, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Poland, Romania, Russia, Turkey, and Ukraine.
Romania recorded the highest number of cases, with 30,692 in 2024, up from 3,371 in 2023.
While the vast majority of cases occur among unvaccinated individuals, the WHO emphasizes the need to maintain coverage of at least 95 percent with two doses of the measles vaccine. The findings could guide future vaccination strategies and public health interventions.
What is Measles and How is it Treated?
Measles is highly contagious, and an estimated 90 percent of unvaccinated people who are exposed to a person with the disease will become infected.
Symptoms typically appear 10 to 12 days after infection and range from cold-like symptoms such as a runny nose and cough, and a mild fever, to sensitivity to light, fever, and a red rash that spreads over the entire body.
The virus spreads from person to person through respiratory droplets produced when infected individuals cough and sneeze.
There is no cure for measles, and no specific treatment exists. It usually lasts about two weeks without complications, and is effectively prevented through two doses of the vaccine. This update underscores ongoing public health challenges related to vaccine-preventable diseases.
