Milan, 2 March. (beraking latest news Salute) – Thanks to the anti-Covid measures still in place, in 2022 in Italy the cases of measles stopped at 18 – recorded in 7 regions – and at 7 those of rubella, again from 7 regions. These are the main data released by the Higher Institute of Health (ISS) in the February 2023 issue of the periodic bulletin ‘Measles & Rubella News’.
As for measles, a third of the cases reported in our country from 1 January to 31 December 2022 to the measles-rubella integrated surveillance system, coordinated by the ISS Infectious Diseases Department, occurred in the month of October. The median age is 29 years and 13 of the 18 cases were between the ages of 15 and 64, but the highest incidence was observed in the 0-4 age group. Furthermore, 5 infections occurred among healthcare workers and 16 cases were unvaccinated at the time of infection. In the same observation period, 7 cases of rubella were reported, with a median age of 9 years.
In an article, reported in the bulletin and published in February 2023 in the journal ‘Vaccine‘, the authors examine the trend of measles cases during the Covid pandemic, concluding that the decrease observed compared to the pre-pandemic period was most likely caused from the non-pharmacological measures implemented to prevent the transmission of Sars-CoV-2. The article also mentions the strategic role of vaccines: the authors underline the importance of guaranteeing high vaccination coverage against measles to avoid the risk of future epidemics.