Korea vigilant as measles cases increase in Europe

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Health authorities in Korea have strengthened monitoring of suspected measles patients in a bid to prevent a possible spread of the highly contagious disease amid increased reports of cases in Europe and other parts of the world, according to the Korea Disease Control and Prevention Agency (KDCA), Tuesday.

The KDCA recently sent official notices to local clinics across the country, asking them to cooperate on enhanced supervision of suspected measles cases. The public health agency cited that the 2024 Winter Youth Olympics has been taking place in Gangwon Province and that an increasing number of people are planning to travel abroad during the Lunar New Year holiday season next month.

The agency asked local clinics to check the travel history of patients and actively carry out measles testing of those who have traveled out of the country and are showing symptoms such as fever or rashes.

Measles is a highly contagious virus that spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes. Up to 90 percent of people, who are not immune to the virus and who are in close proximity to an infected person, will also become infected.

The KDCA said that the authorities have taken preemptive measures to prevent the spread of the disease in local communities, as cases have been continuously increasing around the world and are beginning to be reported in Korea.

Eight measles patients were reported in the country last year and one in the first month of this year. All of those who tested positive did so after having traveled abroad.

The country experienced an epidemic of the disease in 2000 and 2001, but cases have since dropped sharply on the back of an active vaccination program. The country reported no measles cases in 2021 and 2022.

According to the KDCA, increased measles cases have been reported especially from countries in Europe, Southeast Asia, the Middle East and Africa, where vaccinations for many infants were postponed or omitted during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Last year alone, about 280,000 cases were reported around the world, up by 1.6 times from a year earlier. Europe saw a rapid rise, reporting 42,000 cases, up 45 times from a year earlier.