Measles cases reported in Europe 1999 to 2023

In 2017 and 2018, there were large spikes of measles outbreaks in the European Economic Area (EEA), with almost 3.5 thousand cases of measles reported in March 2018, the highest monthly figure since May 2011. The peak of measles cases in 2019 was not as high as the two preceding years, although the recent increase in cases could be a result of the growing vaccine skepticism movement in some European countries. In 2020 and 2021, however, the monthly reported cases of measles were at the lowest levels in the provided time interval which may have been influenced by increased social distancing measures implemented due to the COVID-19 pandemic. In October 2023, 477 cases of measles were recorded in the EEA, the highest amount since February 2020.