MADRID – Children younger than 2 years who contracted measles were significantly more likely to die of the disease than were older children, according to new data from the European Center for Disease Control and Prevention.
Infants younger than 12 months faced the worst mortality outcomes, with a sevenfold increased risk of death, compared with children aged 2 years or older, Emmanuel Robesyn, MD said at the European Society of Clinical Microbiology and Infectious Diseases annual congress. Infants and children younger than 2 years also were much more likely to develop severe complications of the disease, including pneumonia and encephalitis.
Michele G. Sullivan/MDedge News
Dr. Emmanuel Robesyn
The statistics should drive home the point that measles can be a life-threatening disease, especially for small children, said Dr. Robesyn, an expert in outbreak response at the European Center for Disease Prevention and Control, Stockholm.
“We want the population to understand that measles is much more than a nuisance illness of childhood,” he said. “Already this year we have recorded 13 deaths from measles,” which were not included in the data he presented.
“As you know, measles has been set for elimination” as a communicable disease, he said. “We need high immune coverage to achieve that, meaning 95% of the population covered with two doses. That is a challenge.”
Infants are especially vulnerable, and they fully reliant on the immunity of others to avoid measles.