Global Deaths From Measles Decline 74 Percent Since 2000

December 4, 2008 9:03 p.m. EST

Geneva, Switzerland (AHN) - The yearly death toll from measles worldwide has dropped by 74 percent since 2000 from 750,000 to 197,000 last year, according to the World Health Organization (WHO).

Countries in the eastern Mediterranean region experienced the most significant decline in annual deaths from the contagious disease at 90 percent from 96,000 to 10,000 in the same period. The region includes Afghanistan, Pakistan, Somalia and Sudan.

The WHO office in the region said aggressive vaccination campaign was key to the decline in the number of deaths as the number of children immunized in 2007 was double that from the previous year.

However, WHO Eastern Mediterranean regional director Hussein Abdel-Razzak Al Gezairy said periodic nationwide measles vaccination campaigns must continue to prevent measles deaths from rising again.

Measles remains as one of the leading diseases that kill children with 540 lives lost each day, according to WHO.