Japan on Track to Log Highest Post-Pandemic Measles Cases

Tokyo, April 18 (Jiji Press)--Japan is on pace to log its highest annual measles cases this year since the end of the COVID-19 pandemic, with 236 patients confirmed by early April compared with the post-pandemic full-year high of 265 marked last year.

About half of patients are in the 10-29 age group, and the Japan Pediatric Society is calling on people to get vaccinated.

People with measles experience symptoms similar to those of a cold about 10 days after infection, followed by a high fever and a rash. Almost all infected people without immunity develop symptoms, and the illness can lead to severe complications such as encephalitis and pneumonia.

Japan was certified by the World Health Organization in 2015 as being free of indigenous measles viruses, but infections continue due to viruses brought from abroad.

According to the WHO, the number of reported measles cases across the globe increased from around 60,000 in 2021 to approximately 360,000 in 2024, with outbreaks occurring in the United States, Africa and Southeast Asia in recent years.

[Copyright The Jiji Press, Ltd.]