Skip to content

More people in Berlin affected by measles again

In the years of the coronavirus pandemic, many other diseases occurred much less frequently than usual. It was also a result of social distancing, masks, capped flight connections and lockdowns. Now measles is back in Berlin.

A pediatrician vaccinates a one-year-old child in the thigh against measles. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de
A pediatrician vaccinates a one-year-old child in the thigh against measles. Photo.aussiedlerbote.de

Illness - More people in Berlin affected by measles again

In Berlin, more people have been confirmed to have contracted measles in 2023 than in the entire pandemic period. As of December 20, 15 cases had been reported in the capital, as recently summarized by the State Office for Health and Social Affairs (Lageso). According to a database from the Robert Koch Institute (RKI), there were only two cases in the capital in 2022, none in 2021 and three in 2020. The reason for these low figures is the measures taken worldwide to prevent the spread of coronavirus.

According to the RKI overview, Berlin is one of the federal states with the most reported cases of the highly contagious disease in 2023. According to the report, some of the patients were children and some were adults. In the years before the coronavirus outbreak, the number of measles patients registered in the metropolis had always been in double figures. They declined from 75 in 2016 to 22 in 2019. Once you have contracted measles, you are immune for life.

Measles begins with symptoms such as fever, runny nose and cough. After a few days, a characteristic reddish-brown rash appears. It can lead to serious complications such as inflammation of the brain and, even after several years, a fatal late complication. Experts have long criticized the claim that it is only a harmless childhood disease.

In 2015, there was a major measles outbreak with more than 1,240 people affected in Berlin alone, one infant died. Vaccination against measles has been mandatory since March 2020, starting with daycare centers and schools and also applying to some professional groups such as hospital staff.

Lageso report with notification figures (50/2023, PDF)

Read also:

Source: www.stern.de

Comments

Latest