As leader of the public health sector of Rivers State in Nigeria, I was troubled when I received a call in January about several suspected measles cases, and when testing showed one case was positive. Measles is a very dangerous disease not only because of fatality from complications such as ear infections, pneumonia, diarrhea, and brain inflammation, but because it is the most contagious infectious disease — more so than COVID-19, influenza, polio, and even Ebola.
Earlier this year, 213 local government areas across 30 states in Nigeria had recorded over 620 suspected measles cases. According to the director-general of the Nigeria Centre for Disease Control and Prevention, Dr. Jide Idris, over 80% of confirmed cases had not received any dose of the measles vaccine, underscoring a major gap in immunisation coverage. This is not just occurring in Nigeria.
In the past month, measles and whooping cough have increased in places like Colorado, Texas, and New Mexico in the United States, and in Europe and Central Asia. Most of those infected were either unvaccinated or had an “unknown vaccination status.” Last year, Romania alone recorded over 30,000 cases of measles, and between Jan. 1 and March 20 this year, 17 states in the U.S. reported 378 cases, including two deaths — the first deaths related to measles in the U.S. in a decade.
About the author
Dr. Adaeze Oreh
Dr. Adaeze Oreh is a doctoral researcher, Kofi Annan Global Health Leadership fellow, senior fellow at Aspen Global Innovators, consultant family physician, public health expert, and advocate for affordable universal health care. She served as the commissioner for health in Rivers State, Nigeria, between June 2023 and March 2025.
