There has been a dramatic rise in measles cases reported in Europe, with the disease returning in four countries where it had been eradicated, the World Health Organisation said on Thursday.
The highly infectious and potentially fatal disease is no longer considered eradicated in the UK, Albania, Greece and the Czech Republic, based on WHO data from 2018.
"Re-establishment of measles transmission is concerning," said Gunter Pfaff, head of the WHO's commission keeping track of measles and rubella in Europe.
"If high immunisation coverage is not achieved and sustained in every community, children and adults will suffer unnecessarily and some will die."
The number of measles cases reported in 48 European countries in the first six months of 2019 is more than double that in the same period last year.
The WHO said that between January and June 2019, there were 89,994 cases of measles, compared with 44,175 cases from January to June 2018.
A country is considered free from measles when there is no endemic transmission for 12 months.
In the UK, 953 cases of measles were reported in 2018 and 489 for the first six months of 2019.
Those figures for Greece were 2,193 and 28 cases, the Czech Republic 217 and 569, and Albania 1,466 and 475.
Measles can be prevented through two doses of the vaccine against measles, mumps and rubella, which is available for free in many European countries, including the UK, for all young children.
"Each of these countries are examples that have extremely high national vaccination coverage," said Kate O'Brien, director of the WHO's immunisation department.
"So these are not examples of countries that have particularly weak systems. This is the alarm bell that is ringing around the world.
"Being able to achieve high national coverage is not enough, it has to be achieved in every community, and every family for every child."
Measles is already considered endemic in France and in Germany, where vaccination against the disease will be mandatory from 2020.
Worldwide, almost 365,000 cases have been reported this year, close to three times as many as the first half of 2018, the WHO said.
The Democratic of Congo, Ukraine and Madagascar have had the largest outbreak of measles.
The latest data available for the UAE showed the country was bucking the global trend, with nine confirmed cases of measles reported in the first three months of 2019 compared with more than 60 in the same period in 2018.
The US eradicated measles in 2000 but health experts have warned the country could lose its measles-free status as soon as October this year, after reporting the highest number of cases in 25 years.
Why the rise?
Measles had been steadily decreasing until 2016 in countries with advanced healthcare systems when a global resurgence began, the WHO said.
The reasons for the rise vary from country to country. Lack of access to healthcare and vaccination programmes is one factor, while misinformation about measles and how to prevent it is another.
The “anti-vax” movement, which has falsely linked the MMR vaccine to autism in children, has gained traction online, influencing parents’ decision to vaccinate their children.
Despite the drop in measles cases reported in the UAE, doctors have warned the ant-vax movement is growing in the Emirates, as research published in May suggested as many as one in 10 parents are against inoculating their children.
UAE currency: the story behind the money in your pockets
Polarised public
31% in UK say BBC is biased to left-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is biased to right-wing views
19% in UK say BBC is not biased at all
Source: YouGov
ALRAWABI%20SCHOOL%20FOR%20GIRLS
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Company profile
Date started: 2015
Founder: John Tsioris and Ioanna Angelidaki
Based: Dubai
Sector: Online grocery delivery
Staff: 200
Funding: Undisclosed, but investors include the Jabbar Internet Group and Venture Friends
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Our legal consultants
Name: Hassan Mohsen Elhais
Position: legal consultant with Al Rowaad Advocates and Legal Consultants.
Torbal Rayeh Wa Jayeh
Starring: Ali El Ghoureir, Khalil El Roumeithy, Mostafa Abo Seria
Stars: 3
Baby Driver
Director: Edgar Wright
Starring: Ansel Elgort, Kevin Spacey, Jamie Foxx, Lily James
Three and a half stars
Navdeep Suri, India's Ambassador to the UAE
There has been a longstanding need from the Indian community to have a religious premises where they can practise their beliefs. Currently there is a very, very small temple in Bur Dubai and the community has outgrown this. So this will be a major temple and open to all denominations and a place should reflect India’s diversity.
It fits so well into the UAE’s own commitment to tolerance and pluralism and coming in the year of tolerance gives it that extra dimension.
What we will see on April 20 is the foundation ceremony and we expect a pretty broad cross section of the Indian community to be present, both from the UAE and abroad. The Hindu group that is building the temple will have their holiest leader attending – and we expect very senior representation from the leadership of the UAE.
When the designs were taken to the leadership, there were two clear options. There was a New Jersey model with a rectangular structure with the temple recessed inside so it was not too visible from the outside and another was the Neasden temple in London with the spires in its classical shape. And they said: look we said we wanted a temple so it should look like a temple. So this should be a classical style temple in all its glory.
It is beautifully located - 30 minutes outside of Abu Dhabi and barely 45 minutes to Dubai so it serves the needs of both communities.
This is going to be the big temple where I expect people to come from across the country at major festivals and occasions.
It is hugely important – it will take a couple of years to complete given the scale. It is going to be remarkable and will contribute something not just to the landscape in terms of visual architecture but also to the ethos. Here will be a real representation of UAE’s pluralism.
Dust and sand storms compared
Sand storm
- Particle size: Larger, heavier sand grains
- Visibility: Often dramatic with thick "walls" of sand
- Duration: Short-lived, typically localised
- Travel distance: Limited
- Source: Open desert areas with strong winds
Dust storm
- Particle size: Much finer, lightweight particles
- Visibility: Hazy skies but less intense
- Duration: Can linger for days
- Travel distance: Long-range, up to thousands of kilometres
- Source: Can be carried from distant regions
The Settlers
Director: Louis Theroux
Starring: Daniella Weiss, Ari Abramowitz
Rating: 5/5
Schedule:
Friday, January 12: Six fourball matches
Saturday, January 13: Six foursome (alternate shot) matches
Sunday, January 14: 12 singles
Trippier bio
Date of birth September 19, 1990
Place of birth Bury, United Kingdom
Age 26
Height 1.74 metres
Nationality England
Position Right-back
Foot Right
The chef's advice
Troy Payne, head chef at Abu Dhabi’s newest healthy eatery Sanderson’s in Al Seef Resort & Spa, says singles need to change their mindset about how they approach the supermarket.
“They feel like they can’t buy one cucumber,” he says. “But I can walk into a shop – I feed two people at home – and I’ll walk into a shop and I buy one cucumber, I’ll buy one onion.”
Mr Payne asks for the sticker to be placed directly on each item, rather than face the temptation of filling one of the two-kilogram capacity plastic bags on offer.
The chef also advises singletons not get too hung up on “organic”, particularly high-priced varieties that have been flown in from far-flung locales. Local produce is often grown sustainably, and far cheaper, he says.
The biog
Title: General Practitioner with a speciality in cardiology
Previous jobs: Worked in well-known hospitals Jaslok and Breach Candy in Mumbai, India
Education: Medical degree from the Government Medical College in Nagpur
How it all began: opened his first clinic in Ajman in 1993
Family: a 90-year-old mother, wife and two daughters
Remembers a time when medicines from India were purchased per kilo
