Global Deaths caused by Measles declined by 78 Percent, estimates WHO
The World Health Organization reported a drop in the global deaths caused by measles by 78 percent between the year 2000 and 2012. The new estimates show that about 13.8 million deaths were prevents during this time and reported cases of the disease declined by 77 percent.
It has been said that the reasons behind such a decline are good routine immunization levels as well as regular campaigns to vaccinate children.
Even though there has been a remarkable drop in the deaths caused by measles, the WHO says that it is still a global threat and certain populations continue to be unprotected from it. The mortality estimates provided by WHO show that the annual number of deaths caused by measles decreased from more than 562, 000 in 2000 to 122,000 in 2012.
Currently, over 84 percent of the infants across the world receive their first dose of measles vaccine before they are one year old. WHO also says that 145 countries have introduced a routine second dose of measles vaccine to make sure that there is enough immunity and outbreaks are prevented.
Mass campaigns against measles in the year 2012 caused a further 145 million children to get vaccinated against the fatal disease, thus bringing the total number of vaccinated children to over one billion since the year 2000.
Article source: BBC News
Image Source: Getty Images
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Source: Onlymyhealth editorial team Feb 13, 2014
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