Holidaymakers have been advised to get their vaccinations in order before they travel following an upsurge in measles cases.
The Brussels health authority Vivalis said that cases of measles – a highly infectious disease that can be deadly - have increased in the capital since May.
Several popular travel destinations, including Morocco and Romania, are currently going through a measles epidemic. Experts are concerned holidaymakers might contract the disease on their travels and bring it back to Belgium.
The Institute of Tropical Medicine in Antwerp has listed all countries affected by the epidemic on its website.
Measles causes high fever, respiratory symptoms and skin rash, but can also lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). In extreme cases, the disease is fatal.
The vaccination status of adults and children must be checked before going on holiday. There are seven travel clinics in Brussels where people can get vaccinated before their departure.
Vivalis said in a statement: “Consultations are provided by doctors and paediatricians specialised in tropical and travel medicine. The aim of this service is to inform travellers of the risks inherent in their planned trips, and to provide them with the most appropriate advice, vaccinations and prophylaxis.”
How measles spreads
The measles virus is one of the most contagious viruses in existence. Like Covid-19, it spreads through respiratory droplets and remains airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area.
However, the measles virus is even more contagious than Covid: with measles, an infected person can infect 12 to 18 unvaccinated people. With Covid-19, an infected person infects an average of 1 to 1.5 others.
Children under 10 are considered to be the group most at risk of contracting the disease. The only effective protection against measles is a two-dose MMR (Measles-Mumps-Rubella) vaccination.
In Belgium, all children are offered a measles shot at one year old and a repeat shot between the ages of 7-9. While the shots are not mandatory, doctors are stressing the "vital importance" of getting children vaccinated. Additionally, many 30- to 45-year-olds in Belgium are also at risk because their generation was not always (fully) vaccinated during childhood.
People can contract measles if they have not had the disease before and have not (or incompletely) been vaccinated against it. Those who have been vaccinated twice are not at risk.
Vaccination remains the best protection against the disease. However, vaccination rates are falling (particularly in the US), mainly due to a wave of disinformation about vaccines during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Earlier this year, two unvaccinated children died of measles in the US – the first deaths linked to the disease in nearly a decade in the country.
