In Kazakhstan, the first measles cases were recorded in February 2023, the Ministry of Health of the Republic reported to CentralAsia.news.
According to the Sanitary and Epidemiological Control Committee of the Ministry of Health, measles outbreaks worldwide climbed at the beginning of 2022. The disease came to Kazakhstan later.
“As of today, the disease outbreak has been recorded throughout the Republic; over 16,000 cases of measles have been reported, involving all the regions of the country in the epidemic,” the document signed by Acting Chairperson of the Committee Zaura Akhmetova says.
Experts note that unvaccinated children, who make up 84% of the total number of infected children, are the leading cause of increased incidence of measles in Kazakhstan.
The Ministry reported that the World Health Organization is concerned over increasing cases of measles worldwide. This is due to the suspension of immunization services and declines in immunization rates and epidemiological surveillance of this disease caused by the COVID-19 pandemic.
