One Disease Has Already Surged 80% This Year, And We're in a 'Perfect Storm' For More

The UN warned that the rise of the Canary in a coal mine illness indicates that other diseases are on the way.

Millions of children's lives could be at risk due to a "perfect storm" caused by the coronaviruses epidemic, the UN's children's agency and the World Health Organization said.

According to new data from the UN agencies, there were more than 17,000 cases of the disease reported in the first two months of the year.

Most of the large and disruptive measles outbreaks in the last year have been in Africa and the eastern Mediterranean.

Christopher Gregory, senior health adviser in the immunization section of the United Nations Children's Fund, told Agence France-Presse that the most contagious vaccine-preventable disease is measles.

The canary in the coal mine is what we call the "Measles", which shows us where the weaknesses in the immunization system are.

He said that there could be a surge in diseases after the recent cases in West Africa.

He said that they were worried about the countries that were most fragile, where the healthcare systems were already struggling.

The UN data shows that Yemen, Afghanistan, Nigeria, and Ethiopia are all battling some form of conflict, and that's why they have the highest number of measles cases in the last year.

There are fears that the war in Ukraine could cause a resurgence in the country after it recorded Europe's highest rate of measles between 2017 and 2019.

Gregory said that it had been difficult to keep track of any disease since the war began, and that the biggest concern was what could be missing.

Impact 'felt for decades'

More than 23 million children missed out on vaccinations in 2020 because of the COVID epidemic, the largest number in more than a decade.

Most of the 203 million people affected by the Pandemic have not received their vaccine, according to the UN agencies.

COVID drags staffing and attention away from vaccination for long-standing deadly diseases and piles pressure on healthcare facilities.

The impact of these disruptions to immunization services will be felt for decades to come, according to the WHO chief.

It is time to get essential immunization back on track and launch catch-up campaigns so that everyone can have access to these life-saving vaccines.

Gregory said it was time to put childhood immunization at the same level of priority as finishing COVID vaccine.

Children are the main victims of measles, a disease caused by a virus. Severe respiratory infections, brain swelling, and blindness are the most serious of the consequences.

The best way to prevent it from spreading is to have at least 95 percent of the population get a vaccine.

Agence France-Presse