Measles cases up in India: Are missed vaccines to blame?

India is second among 57 nations affected. The immunisation against infection remains stagnant, says report

Measles is a contagious viral infection that causes fever, cough, runny nose, skin blotches and sore throat. (File Photo)

India was one of the 57 countries that witnessed large disruptive outbreaks of measles in 2023 — and with 65,150 cases, the country was second only to Democratic Republic of Congo, according to the latest report by the World Health Organisation and US Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). Globally, the incidence of the infection has gone up by 20%, with 10.3 million measles cases recorded in 2023, according to the report.

The estimated number of measles deaths also increased globally by 8% over the previous year, with 107,500 deaths globally.

Measles is a contagious viral infection that causes fever, cough, runny nose, skin blotches and sore throat. But, it can lead to severe complications such as brain swelling and death. The infection, however, is preventable with immunisation.

Concerningly, immunisation against the infection remained stagnant, the report shows. “During the COVID-19 pandemic, estimated global coverage with the first dose of measles-containing vaccine (MCV1) declined to 81%, the lowest level since 2008. MCV1 coverage improved to 83% in 2022 but was unchanged in 2023.”

While individual estimates for India were unavailable, data from WHOs Southeast Asia region shows that MCV1 coverage levels had reached the pre-pandemic levels in 2022, but dropped slightly a year later. MCV1 coverage stood at 94% in 2019, dipping to 87% in 2021 before increasing to 94% in 2022, but going down to 91% again in 2023. The coverage for the second dose of measles containing vaccine (MCV-2) also dipped slightly in 2023 in the region as compared to the previous year, but still remained higher than the pre-pandemic levels. The MCV-2 coverage stood at 83% in the region in 2019, which dropped to 79% in 2021, increased to 86% in 2022, and stood at 85% in 2023.

The report said that 22.2 million children globally missed their first dose of the vaccine, which was an increase of 2% as compared to the previous years. And, while the individual country-wise coverage data was not present in the report, it said that two countries from the WHO Southeast Asia region were among the top ten countries with the highest number of infants that missed their doses.

Last year’s report said that an estimated 1.1 million children in India had missed their first dose of the vaccine in 2022. The government, however, said that the MCV-1 went up to 93% in 2023.

Anonna Dutt

Anonna Dutt is a Principal Correspondent who writes primarily on health at the Indian Express. She reports on myriad topics ranging from the growing burden of non-communicable diseases such as diabetes and hypertension to the problems with pervasive infectious conditions. She reported on the government’s management of the Covid-19 pandemic and closely followed the vaccination programme. Her stories have resulted in the city government investing in high-end tests for the poor and acknowledging errors in their official reports. Dutt also takes a keen interest in the country’s space programme and has written on key missions like Chandrayaan 2 and 3, Aditya L1, and Gaganyaan. She was among the first batch of eleven media fellows with RBM Partnership to End Malaria. She was also selected to participate in the short-term programme on early childhood reporting at Columbia University’s Dart Centre. Dutt has a Bachelor’s Degree from the Symbiosis Institute of Media and Communication, Pune and a PG Diploma from the Asian College of Journalism, Chennai. She started her reporting career with the Hindustan Times. When not at work, she tries to appease the Duolingo owl with her French skills and sometimes takes to the dance floor. ... Read More