A measles outbreak in Bangladesh has driven an emergency vaccination campaign targeting 3,4 million unvaccinated children aged 6 to 59 months, following a surge that surpassed the 1,000 deaths. According to health authorities, the country has recorded nearly 187,000 suspected cases, more than 165,000 hospitalizations, and 1,087 confirmed or suspected measles-associated deaths since the emergency began.
Measles Transmission Dynamics and Global Immunity Gaps
Measles remains one of the most contagious human pathogens known to science. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a single infected person can transmit the virus to up to 18 non-immune individuals. To interrupt transmission, communities require at least 95 percent two-dose vaccination coverage. When coverage drops, the virus rapidly exploits accumulated populations of susceptible individuals, making immunization programs a critical benchmark for public health infrastructure.
In Bangladesh, transmission spread to 58 of the country’s 64 districts by April, with the WHO reporting that 79 percent of cases involved children under five and 66 percent involved children under two. Despite administering nearly 20 million doses through previous emergency drives, significant immunity gaps persisted among young children.
Globally, approximately 29 million children remained insufficiently protected against measles in 2025, with 84 percent receiving their first dose and 77 percent receiving both doses. The resulting immunity gaps fueled an estimated 11 million infections and roughly 95,000 deaths in 2024, predominantly among children under five, while 59 countries experienced large or disruptive outbreaks.
Measles Surveillance and Vaccination Coverage in Italy
Low vaccination thresholds are not isolated to developing nations. In Italy, complete data from 2024 shows that measles-mumps-rubella coverage for children born in 2022 reached 94.77 percent, just below the 95 percent target. Coverage drops significantly in older age groups: second-dose uptake for children aged 5 to 6 and 8 hovers between 84 and 86 percent, reaching 90.85 percent among 16-year-olds.
This immunity gap has sustained active virus circulation. During the first five months of 2026, Italy registered 609 suspected, probable, and confirmed measles cases, of which 472 were laboratory-confirmed. Data from the Istituto Superiore di Sanità indicates that in January 2026 alone, the agency received 84 reports, 73 of which were confirmed. Among patients with a documented vaccination status, 90.9 percent were unvaccinated at the time of infection, and over a third developed at least one medical complication.
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