Populist politics, anti-vaxxers and Russian trolls: Why measles is back
It’s the most infectious vaccine-preventable disease and it’s sweeping the world.
Measles transmission has quadrupled in a year, according to the WHO, with 170 countries reporting 112,163 cases in the first three months of 2019.1
Not only is measles exploding in traditional hotspots — Africa is up by 700% — but Western countries are seeing the most widespread outbreaks in decades.
Australia, despite a declaration of measles elimination in 2014, is experiencing its biggest outbreak since 2012, with 113 notifications in the first four months of this year and an unprecedented number of public health alerts.2
