An Outbreak of Measles in Iraq

Measles is a highly contagious illness which can be prevented by a vaccine. It needs to be interrupted from transmission through population-based immunity [1]. The causative agent (measles virus) is a negative strand ribonucleic acid (RNA) virus [2]. Measles is considered a serious public health problem because its causative virus is transmitted through droplets or aerosols, can induce systemic infection, and suppress the immune response even following a long period of getting the infection [3]. The standard vaccination of children against measles is through attaining a two-dose immunization schedule, as a single dose can only provide 15% immunity. It is necessary to reach and maintain 95% of the population immunization against measles [4]. Despite the presence of an effective and safe attenuated live virus vaccine, measles is still considered a dangerous disease worldwide resulting in the death of 136,000 (mostly children) in the year 2022 [5]. Measles outbreaks are suspected and should be declared when the number of cases reported in a region exceeds the usual number of cases. The increment rate of reported measles cases and deaths from this illness in 2022 is 18% and 43% respectively, in comparison with the year 2021 across the globe [6].