Off the wire
• Urgent: U.S. oil price falls as inventories rise  • Telekom Austria records doubling of profit in Q1  • France, Ukraine to reinforce bilateral relations  • 2014 marks record low for Swiss wine consumption: report  • 1st LD Writethru: Gold drops as Middle East tension eases  • Burundi hails achievements of int'l organizations in Burundi  • Spanish stock market falls 0.2 pct, closes at 11,399 points  • Nigerian troops kill top Boko Haram commander in gun battle  • Urgent: Gold drops as Middle East tension eases  • Spain receives 10.6 mln int'l tourists in Q1  
You are here: 　 Home

Austria sees increase in cases of measles outbreaks

Xinhua, April 23, 2015 Adjust font size:

Austria saw an increase in the number of measle outbreaks so far in 2015, with 147 cases reported by April 20 already compared to 117 cases reported for the entire year of 2014.

The statistics were shared during a press conference in Vienna on Wednesday to mark the European Immunization Week that runs from April 20 to 25.

The figures also mirror similar outbreaks that have occurred in the U.S. And Germany.

Pamela Rendi-Wagner from the Ministry of Health said the number of free vaccinations carried out for measles, mumps and rubella had increased 23 percent in 2014, though the number of measles cases has now been on the rise for two years.

In addition Austria still has some way to go to reach the vaccination coverage of 95 percent that is necessary for the eradication of the disease, it was stated. Gaps exist in three major areas - in particular regions, particular ages, and particular job groups.

Rendi-Wagner said health workers have in particular shown themselves to be vulnerable to contracting the disease.

Guenter Pfaff from the World Health Organization (WHO) said going by plan the highly-contagious disease should have already been eradicated in Austria in 2015, with neighbouring countries the Czech Republic, Slovakia, Slovenia, and Hungary having already reached this goal. Endit