WHO Epidemiological Brief 25: Update on measles and rubella

The European Region faces another challenging year in terms of measles cases, with more than 13 000 cases already reported from January to April 2012. Measles incidence has decreased on a regional level since the beginning of the year, but Ukraine continues to experience a large outbreak with 8 200 cases reported in period January ‐ April. Several other countries are also reporting an increased number of cases.

More than 15 000 rubella cases have been reported in the Region this year, with most cases occurring in Romania, Poland, Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Cases are decreasing in Romania and increasing in Ukraine and the Russian Federation. Surveillance data reported by Member States continues to suffer from challenges in timeliness and completeness, both for measles and rubella data.