The answer is that these diseases are preventable through vaccination – and they are all spreading in Europe.
The latest WHO/Unicef estimates of vaccination coverage reveal an ‘alarming decline’ in uptake in Europe and Central Asia over the past five years. Experts say this has made communities vulnerable to a resurgence of preventable diseases.
While most parents protect their children against these diseases, many infants are still missing out on vaccines against measles, pertussis (whooping cough), polio and hepatitis B, among others.
Measles is one of the most contagious viruses spreading worldwide. In the absence of immunity, an infected child will spread the virus to between 16 and 18 others. Two doses of measles vaccine are required to protect against infection.
If 95% of the community receives both of their doses, the virus generally cannot find new people to infect. This is called ‘herd immunity’. Infants typically have their first dose of measles vaccine at around twelve months old. Until then, they rely on herd immunity for protection.
Measles vaccination is below the 95% target needed to control the infection
- 92% to 91% with the second dose of measles/mumps/rubella (MMR) vaccine
- 95% to 93% with the third dose of DTP vaccine
- 95% to 93% with the third dose of polio vaccine
- 92% to 91% with the third dose of hepatitis B vaccine.
Measles cases are surging in Europe, as well as in the US, Canada and elsewhere. Pertussis is also on the rise, with 300,000 cases in the European region last year. Europe has also recorded its most severe diphtheria outbreak in 70 years.
‘Last year alone, nearly 300,000 people got whooping cough in our Region – more than a three-fold increase on the previous year. Meanwhile, over 125,000 caught measles in 2024 – twice as many as 2023,’ said Dr Hans Henri P. Kluge, WHO Regional Director for Europe.
‘These are not just numbers – it’s hundreds of thousands of families in anguish because their children are sick, and it could have been prevented. Vaccines save lives, and when coverage drops, disease spreads.’
Read: Diphtheria is back
Regina De Dominicis, UNICEF Regional Director for Europe and Central Asia, said that the return of preventable diseases is a stark reminder of the need to invest in health systems. ‘In many ways, vaccination has been a victim of its own success across Europe and Central Asia,’ she said. ‘Today’s generation has not witnessed the devastating impact of vaccine-preventable diseases – leading to complacency and making it easier for misinformation to take hold.’
Silver lining: HPV vaccination
The new data contained some more encouraging trends in HPV vaccine uptake. The vaccine, which can prevent cervical cancer, is offered to girls and – in many European countries – to boys in early adolescence.
There have been steady increases in coverage in the period 2019 to 2024, particularly among boys. HPV vaccine is one of several ‘newer’ vaccines for which uptake has been increasing. Uptake of rotavirus, Haemophilus influenzae type b, and pneumococcal conjugate vaccines are all rising, compared to 2019.
- 37% to 40% for girls and 8% to 26% for boys with the first dose of HPV vaccine
- 24% to 42% with the last dose of rotavirus vaccine
- 81% to 93% with the third dose of Haemophilus influenzae type b vaccine
- 81% to 86% with the last dose of pneumococcal conjugate vaccine.
‘As we plan the next phase of our work across Europe and Central Asia, one thing is clear: vaccines must stay at the top of the agenda,’ Dr Kluge said. ‘The work is not yet finished.’