The threat of measles in a globalized world

Let's look at the disease burden of measles by country and continent in 2019

In 2019, the incidence of measles (the number of new cases recorded) was very high. There were a total of 429,650 reported cases of measles worldwide. Sizeable outbreaks were recorded across different regions of the world, inter alia in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Ethiopia, Georgia, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Madagascar, Myanmar, the Philippines, Sudan, Thailand and Ukraine. If the response to an outbreak is not timely and comprehensive, the virus will find its way into more pockets of vulnerable individuals and potentially spread within and beyond the affected countries. As long as measles continues to circulate around the world, all countries are at risk of importation. In a globalized world with international travel and commerce, measles is not just a concern for the countries in which outbreaks originate but also represents a public health threat for the US and the rest of the world.

The Incidence of Measles - The majority of measles cases in 2019 were recorded in Africa, with the largest outbreak in Madagascar

This visualization illustrates the global distribution of measles cases in 2019. Country blocks are organized by continent and each country includes the total number of cases reported in that country from January 1 - December 31, 2019. Based on data from the WHO, get the data here. Visualization adapted from D3 Source Treemap by Mike Bostock.

When considering the number of measles cases per country, it is important to consider the population of that country to get an accurate picture of the burden the disease is imposing on the country.

Measles Cases per 100,000 people - Africa and Europe had the highest number of measles cases relative to their populations in 2019

This visualization shows the number of measles cases per 100,000 people calculated with measles case data from the WHO, and world population from the United Nations. Get the data here. Visualization adapted from D3 Source Treemap by Mike Bostock.