Monday, January 21, 2019

The Anti-vax Threat to Health

Some 2 to 3 million people a year are saved from dying by vaccines worldwide, according to the WHO. Approximately 1.5 million could have been added to that tally, if vaccination efforts were more widespread, the organization said.

The World Health Organization (WHO) said on Monday that a lack of willingness to vaccinate was one of the world's greatest health risks. The WHO put the focus in particular on the threat posed by anti-vaccination movements in the western world.

The WHO said a case in point, to illustrate the magnitude of the problem, was the fight against measles. In 2017, the number of cases rose by 30 percent worldwide in comparison with the previous year. In particular, the WHO warned about the increase of measles in Europe, where 23,927 contracted the disease in 2017. This was a sharp rise in comparison with the previous year where only 5,273 cases were registered.

No comments: