TAIPEI (TVBS News) — Taiwan's Centers for Disease Control (CDC) reported two domestic and one imported measles case on Tuesday (March 5). The local patients include a woman in her 20s and a man in his 40s. The imported case involves a man in his 30s who arrived from Malaysia on Feb. 16.
In 2024, Taiwan reported seven measles cases, ages ranging from 20 to over 40. Five of these are domestic cases, while two are imported from Malaysia.
The combined number of local and imported measles cases this year already exceeds the total number of cases seen from 2020 to 2023, which was zero, signaling an increased risk of domestic transmission.
According to World Health Organization (WHO) data highlighted by the CDC, there was a substantial hike in global measles cases in 2023. Europe led the surge with over 58,000 cases, Russia and Turkey bearing the brunt. Southeast Asia reported nearly 85,000 cases, mainly from India and Indonesia, while the Western Pacific had over 5,000 cases, primarily in Malaysia and the Philippines.
The CDC calls for diligent vaccination of children aged 1 and 5 who have yet to meet standard immunization levels, as the present inoculation rate of the Measles, Mumps, and Rubella (MMR) vaccine is 98.7% among preschool children born between 2013-2017, which leaves an estimated 13,000 children unprotected. The CDC encourages immediate vaccination at local health centers or contracted institutions to mitigate infection risk.