Both countries have reported an increase in measles cases since the beginning of the year 2025. In addition to children, adults are also affected.
Measles is not a benign disease, as the following facts show:
- Hospitalization: about 1 in 5 unvaccinated people in the United States who get measles are hospitalized.
- Pneumonia: as many as 1 out of every 20 children with measles will develop pneumonia, the leading cause of death from measles in young children.
- Encephalitis: about 1 in 1,000 children with measles will develop encephalitis, which can cause convulsions and leave the child deaf or intellectually disabled.
- Death: nearly 1 to 3 out of every 1000 children infected with measles will die from respiratory and neurological complications.
- Complications during pregnancy: measles can cause pregnant women who have not received the MMR vaccine to give birth prematurely or have a low-birth-weight baby.
All travelers should be immune against measles!
Swiss recommendations: all persons born after 1963 who have no documented protection against the infection (antibodies or 2 documented vaccinations) should be vaccinated twice with MMR vaccine. In the event of an epidemic in the region or contact with a measles case, vaccination is recommended from the age of 6 months.
Via ProMED 13.2.2025