WHO calls for vaccinations against European measles epidemic
The World Health Organization on called on European nations Wednesday to step up vaccinations against the highly contagious measles virus after an outbreak of over 22,000 cases across the continent since 2014. "We must collectively respond, without further delay, to close immunisation gaps,” said Zsuzsanna Jakab, WHO's Europe director. According to the UN health agency, 22,149 cases of measles have been reported in seven countries across the region since the start of 2014, with Kyrgyzstan, Bosnia and Herzegovina as well as Russia hit hardest. The resurgence of the preventable disease in some European countries, as well as parts of the United States, coincides with a movement among some parents to refuse to vaccinate their children.
