European Immunisation Week 2026 — themed “For every generation, vaccines work” — has highlighted new European data showing hundreds of measles cases early this year, a steep rise in whooping cough infections in 2024 and persistently high levels of invasive pneumococcal disease in recent years.
The European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC) said on Monday it is publishing updated epidemiological data on vaccine-preventable diseases in the European Union and European Economic Area (EU/EEA), alongside a report monitoring human papillomavirus (HPV) vaccination programmes and a new online dashboard tracking vaccination coverage.
Surveillance data recorded 350 reported measles cases in 2026 as of 28 February, the organisation said.
It also reported nearly 210,000 pertussis cases in 2024, more than eight times the number reported in 2023.
Pertussis is also known as whooping cough, and the most affected groups were infants under one year old and adolescents aged 10 to 14.
HPV coverage tracking and pneumococcal disease figures
Annual notifications of invasive pneumococcal disease exceeded 25,000 cases a year in both 2023 and 2024 in the EU/EEA, the ECDC said, adding that this was the highest level observed since 2019. Invasive pneumococcal disease refers to severe infections caused by pneumococcal bacteria, including bloodstream infections and meningitis.
All EU/EEA countries have expanded HPV vaccination programmes to include both boys and girls, with some reporting improvements in vaccination coverage, the ECDC said in its new HPV monitoring report.
HPV is a common virus linked to several cancers, including cervical cancer.
The ECDC also launched a new vaccination coverage dashboard, with data for HPV and other vaccines including hepatitis B, measles and rubella.
