Europe saw the highest number of measles cases in 25 years in 2024, the World Health Organization (WHO) has warned.
Across the region which includes 53 countries in Europe and Central Asia, there were 127,350 cases of measles reported last year, double that seen in 2023.
The rise is linked to a drop in immunisation coverage in many countries during Covid-19, which has yet to return to pre-pandemic levels, officials said.
An analysis by WHO and UNICEF found 38 deaths had been reported and 40% of cases were in children under five years.
There has been growing concern internationally about a growing threat of measles.
In the US, the Centers for Disease Control has reported three outbreaks including in West Texas and New Mexico with more than 250 people infected and the death of a child.
Last year saw the spread of measles in England, initially centred on the West Midlands but with smaller clusters around the country, which sparked vaccination catch-up campaigns.
A national incident was called in January last year and in all there were 2,911 laboratory confirmed cases in England in 2024 – the highest number of cases since 2012.
The most recent figures from the UK Health Security Agency (UKHSA) show 151 confirmed measles cases so far this year with 60 of those in the past month.
Yorkshire and the Humber, the South West and London are the regions with the highest figures in 2025 so far.
More than 180,000 additional doses of MMR vaccine were delivered in last year’s catch-up campaign with 13% of previously unvaccinated children under the age of five years getting their first dose.
UKHSA also said the largest increases for both doses of MMR were seen in groups with historically lower coverage including African, Arab, other black and white Gypsy and Irish Traveller ethnic groups.
Dr Hans Henri P Kluge, WHO regional director for Europe said: ‘Measles is back, and it’s a wake-up call. Without high vaccination rates, there is no health security.
‘As we shape our new regional health strategy for Europe and Central Asia, we cannot afford to lose ground. Every country must step up efforts to reach under-vaccinated communities.
‘The measles virus never rests—and neither can we.’
In 2023 alone, 500,000 children across the WHO European region missed the first dose of the measles vaccine.
The report noted that less than 80% of eligible children in Bosnia and Herzegovina, Montenegro, North Macedonia and Romania were vaccinated against measles in 2023 – far below the 95 per cent coverage rate required to retain herd immunity
For the UK the figure is 89.8% but drops to 85% for uptake of the second dose.
Dr Ben Kasstan-Dabush, assistant professor in global health and development at the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, said: ‘Measles cases across the UK are rising, as we’re also seeing across other parts of Europe, Central Asia and through new outbreaks in the US.
‘Measles is extremely infectious. Before routine vaccination began, England and Wales saw large outbreaks with peaks of 600,000 cases in some years.
‘Vaccination programmes in the UK and globally have been so successful that it can be easy to forget why we still need them and many people may not have a memory of the consequences of infections like measles.’
He added that public health teams must constantly engage with families and communities through outreach, but that can be difficult when resources are increasingly stretched.
‘But the costs of reducing public health outreach speak for themselves, and history tells us that even a small decline in vaccine uptake can have devastating consequences.’
