Measles outbreak in southeastern Netherlands, 15 cases reported

There is an outbreak of measles in Eindhoven and the surrounding area. The Municipal Health Service (GGD) has received reports of fourteen children with an average age of 5 years and one adult being infected with the highly contagious disease. The Ministry of Health stated that all of them had not been vaccinated.

“The low vaccination rate increases the risk of spread,” the GGD adds. It confirms once again that vaccination provides good protection against the disease.

The virus that causes measles has been spreading in many other European Union countries for some time. Several thousand cases have already been reported in Austria, Liechtenstein and Romania last year. The European Health Authority recently warned of the possibility of an increase in the number of infections. In Belgium, the Riga Institute at the University of Leuven reported on Thursday that the measles virus had been found in wastewater in northern Brussels.

Symptoms of measles include fever, sneezing, and coughing. Affected people also usually have inflamed eyes. After three to seven days, spots appear on the skin. Complaints often remain relatively mild, but occasionally the patient becomes seriously ill. “In serious cases, someone develops pneumonia or encephalitis,” explains the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM). In exceptional cases, measles is fatal.

The last major measles outbreak in the Netherlands was in 2013 and early 2014, when several thousand people became ill. There have been a few cases in recent years. Last year, the health service recorded only seven in total. The outbreak around Eindhoven represents the highest number of infections since 2019. According to RIVM figures, 83 people in the Netherlands have contracted measles.