The measles in 2017 killed 35
people in Europe, where 21,315 people contracted the disease, up
400% on the previous year, the World Health Organization (WHO)
said Tuesday.
Only 5,273 cases were registered in 2016, a record low, the
WHO also said.
Fifteen European countries recorded the highest number of
cases, with Romania, Italy and Ukraine topping the list, the
European chapter of the organization said.
Out of 53 countries in the WHO's European region, 15 - or one
in four - registered an outbreaks with more than 100 cases.
Romania ranked first with 5,562 reported cases, followed by
Italy with 5,006 and Ukraine with 4,767.
The organization said the spike in measles cases was mainly
due to a combination of multiple factors including an overall
decline in vaccination rates, interruptions in vaccine provision
and poor monitoring.
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