City trip to New York? You may need to have your baby vaccinated against measles

RIVM advises holidaymakers to have their babies vaccinated early if they travel to countries with a measles outbreak. The health institute has also expanded the list of risk countries.

This means that babies from 6 months old should already be vaccinated in countries where the measles virus often appears. Normally children only receive a vaccination against mumps, measles and rubella (the so-called MMR vaccination) at the age of 14 months.

Measles outbreak in Europe

The largest outbreaks are currently reported in Ukraine and Romania. In addition, there are also local outbreaks in Poland, the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Italy, France, Bulgaria and Lithuania. Measles have also broken out in Orthodox Jewish quarters in New York and London.

In addition, countries such as Venezuela, Brazil, Colombia and Guyana have also been characterized as risk areas. RIVM’s advice now applies to more than 100 countries. You can find the complete list of advice per country here see.

Record number of measles cases in the US

In fact, a record number of measles cases have been recorded in the United States since the disease was considered banned by the US in 2000. A total of 695 infections are currently reported. The Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) announced this today.

The contagion of the infectious disease is due to a major outbreak in New York, according to a statement from the CDC. In New York, officials reported on Wednesday that 390 cases had been registered since October, mostly among children in Orthodox Jewish communities.

Fine

The New York judge recently ordered the city to mandate measles vaccination. In certain neighborhoods in the Brooklyn borough, a state of emergency had previously been declared due to the outbreak. If people refuse to have their child vaccinated, they risk a fine of 900 euros.

RIVM advises people who travel to New York and stay in measles neighborhoods to consider early vaccination.

Worldwide increase

This year saw a marked increase in the number of people infected with measles, the number of infections in the first quarter of this year was almost four times higher than in the same period last year. This is reported by the World Health Organization WHO earlier this month.

In the meantime, measles has been detected in 112,163 people. The World Health Organization has long warned that measures must be taken. For example, the vaccination coverage should be high so that the spread of the disease can be limited.

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