In a follow-up to the measles outbreak in the Czech Republic, Doctors have registered an increased incidence of measles in the Czech Republic, reporting over 100 cases, mostly in Prague, according to a Radio Praha report.

Image/sferrario1968 via pixabay
Image/sferrario1968 via pixabay

Of the 103 cases registered this year to date, 70 of them were in Prague. Typically, the country sees only isolated cases annually.

A public fear of vaccines is being blamed on the increased incidence this year, according to Vice Minister of Health Roman Prymula, who is also chairman of the Czech Vaccination Society.

Opinions on vaccines’ benefits vary, as some people reject vaccines while some parents postpone the vaccine until the child is older. The minister reminded that the measles vaccination is mandatory, unvaccinated children are not accepted by pre-schools, and their parents face a fine, according to a Xinhua report.

Based on the latest statistics provided by the Czech health ministry, three age groups are suffering from the measles. The first one is children age one to four years old, while the second and third are grown-ups aged between 45 and 49, and 35 to 39 years old.

Doctors say that to ensure collective immunity, a vaccine rating of over 95 percent is required. The current figure is about 90 percent.

Related: 

The European Commission wants to increase the coverage of measles vaccine to 95 percent

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Measles serious threat for babies, toddlers, unvaccinated youths: ECDC

Europe measles cases up 400 percent in 2017