Epidemiology of measles

The Health Ministry has requested doctors to report the information of vaccine refusers with wet signature documentation instead of electronic means for closer monitoring purposes.

Ministry sources indicated that the requirement to obtain wet-signed forms from patients refusing vaccination was introduced to better collect the number and information of the refusers.

The latest measles outbreak occurred in Greece in 2017-2018 with more than 3,200 cases and four deaths.

An adult who contracted measles has died in hospital in Ireland, the country's Health Service Executive (HSE) has said.

Health authorities are keeping a close eye on the recent cases of measles in the country among adults, amid outbreaks in Romania, France, the UK and Austria.

According to Alternate Health Minister Eirini Agapidaki, there are a total of five reported cases, one in Thessaloniki and four in Hania, Crete.

The National Organization for Public Health (EODY) in Greece is preparing a plan to prevent a potential measles epidemic through targeted vaccinations.

While Greece hasn't reported measles cases recently, concerns arise due to a European surge in 2023 and a historical pattern every 5-6 years.

Amid rising concerns over increasing measles cases in the country, Health Minister Fahrettin Koca has refuted recent media reports claiming deaths resulting from measles in the country, stating that the allegations are baseless and do not reflect the truth.

The new confirmed cases of coronavirus in Bulgaria for the last 24 hours are 173, according to the data of the Unified Information Portal.

2,941 tests were performed, which means that the proportion of positive results is 5.88 percent.

Three patients with confirmed coronavirus infection have died.

Africa is facing an explosion of preventable diseases due to delays in vaccinating children, the World Health Organization (WHO) said on April 28, with measles cases jumping 400 percent.

Twenty African countries reported measles outbreaks in the first quarter of this year, eight more than in the first three months of 2021.

Vaccinated people in Greece to be able to move absolutely freely even in the areas with the highest incidence of COVID-19 intends a government plan, which is expected to be announced tomorrow, according to the electronic edition of the Greek newspaper "Proto Tema".

The largest number of infected are in the United States - more than 18 million people, followed by India with almost 11 million infected, and Brazil with 9.9 million.
Russia is on the fourth place in the world and the first in Europe with more than four million cases of COVID-19.