Measles case registered in Bulgaria

The first case of measles has been registered in the country at the National Centre for Infectious and Parasitic Diseases (NCIPD).

The case is from Sofia and was confirmed late last week at the national reference laboratory for measles, mumps and rubella, the laboratory told BNR.

Meanwhile, the Sofia regional health inspectorate said it was launching a campaign to immunise children without a GP and with missed immunisations and re-immunisations against measles, mumps and rubella.

The vaccines will be administered at the Sofia health inspectorate's immunisation office from 8.30am to 5pm on weekdays.

The disease, which presents with a skin rash preceded by rhinitis, conjunctivitis, cough accompanied by very high fever and severe fatigue, can affect all age groups.

However, in 2023, two out of five cases were recorded in children aged between one and four and only one in five were in people aged 20 and over.

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In December 2023, the World Health Organisation issued an urgent warning over measles after an “alarming” 30-fold rise in cases across Europe.

The UN agency reported an enormous increase in numbers affected by the diseas.

More than 30,000 cases were reported between January and October last year, compared with 941 cases in the whole of 2022 – a more than 30-fold rise.