The number of confirmed measles cases in Brussels is rising. According to health authority Vivalis, the increase is not yet cause for concern, but “vigilance is needed”.
Vivalis, the government body responsible for health in Brussels, confirmed 42 cases of measles in April, 51 in May and 42 in June, BRUZZ reports. Meanwhile, the Flemish Care Department has counted 64 reports of confirmed or probable cases this year, almost twice as many as last year. Most reports of measles in Flanders are in Flemish Brabant.
Leuven’s Rega Institute has been testing sewage water for the presence of viruses since the Covid-19 pandemic and its researchers found the measles virus in Brussels in March. The virus has now also been found in sewage water from Bertem in Flemish Brabant. No new samples from Brussels have been investigated since April.
There has been some vaccination fatigue since the corona pandemic, but it is hugely important to vaccinate children against measles
Because vaccination coverage is lower in Brussels, “it was somewhat to be expected that measles would reappear”, Elke Wollants, lab manager at the Rega Institute, told BRUZZ. “But I didn’t expect that it would also appear in the area around Leuven.” The presence of the virus in sewage water indicates multiple infections, she said.
Both Wollants and Vivalis have called for parents to ensure their children are fully vaccinated against the disease. “There has been some vaccination fatigue since the corona pandemic, but it is hugely important to vaccinate children against measles,” she said.
In most people, the disease causes a rash, a cold and fever, but one in four develops complications including eye, ear or lung infections and in some cases a potentially fatal brain infection.