Victorian disease outbreak could spiral into endemic if disturbing surge continues

A Victorian-era disease is spreading across the world and could soon become an endemic, an expert warns. Measles is among the most contagious viruses humans can face with its sickly consequences ranging from diarrhoea to pneumonia, blindness and even death.

Our best line of defence against it? Vaccination, the World Health Organisation (WHO) insists. Last year was the worst for measles in Europe and Central Asia since 1997, with more than 120,000 cases reported across the continent. So far in 2025, about 4,500 cases have been reported across the European Union, according to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Most of those cases have been in Romania.

The disease plagued children during Victorian Britain but has now made a chilling comeback globally. Measles is now so rife in the US alone, experts fear it's an endemic waiting to happen. All this despite the fact it was declared eliminated in the US in 2000, Science Alert reports.

A shocking 935 cases of measles across 30 states were confirmed by US health officials on May 2. It's a huge surge on 2024 figures which hit 285 cases. The outbreak has also spread across the border to Canada where an equally alarming 1,177 cases have been reported.

Of those reports, 951 of them have been linked to an outbreak that began in New Brunswick in October last year which went on to spread to seven provinces. Rewind only as far back as 2023, and there were just 12 measles cases in all of Canada.

WHO has now placed South as well as North America on high alert for the disease.

The World Health Organization has declared both North and South America to be at high risk for measles. Last month on April 18, Mexico reported 421 confirmed measles cases with another 384 under investigation.

Grim reading continues down to Belize where the first two cases of measles have been confirmed since since 1991. There have been five cases in Brazil and a further 21 in Argentina – largely in the capital city of Buenos Aires.

WHO says on its website: "Closer to home and the explosion of cases in Romania as reported by the EU, has been driven by an anti-vaccine movement, conflicting health guidance and an overwhelmed medical system. In 2023, only 62% of the population was fully vaccinated against measles, far below the 95% threshold needed to prevent outbreaks."

It adds: "UNICEF and WHO are calling for governments with active outbreaks to urgently intensify case finding and contact tracing and conduct emergency vaccination campaigns."