# Measles cases in Europe and Central Asia doubled last year compared to 2023, with the World Health Organisation and UNICEF warning it is a “wake-up call”. More than 40-percent of the 127-thousand-350 reported European cases in 2024 were children under five. It is the highest number of cases since 1997. Half a million children across the region missed their first measles vaccine. Two doses of the vaccine are believed to be 97-percent effective in preventing the disease, one of the most contagious viruses for humans.
Measles cases in Europe and Central Asia doubled last year to highest since 1997