Measles deaths reach record lows with fragile gains toward global elimination
6 February, 2014|Geneva – New mortality estimates from the World Health Organization (WHO) show that annual measles deaths have reached historic lows, dropping 78% from more than 562 000 in 2000 to 122 000 in 2012. During this time period, an estimated 13.8 million deaths have been prevented by measles vaccination and surveillance data showed that reported cases declined 77% from 853 480 to 226 722. These gains are a result of global routine measles immunization coverage holding steady…