How common is measles?
Before widespread immunisation against measles in industrialised countries, measles was a very common childhood disease that carried a high death rate. Nowadays in countries where measles is part of an immunisation programme, the risk of exposure and incidence of actual disease cases is low. However, because of a recent trend by some parents not to immunise their children, the number of cases of measles, and its complications, is once again increasing. In developing countries, measles still occurs frequently and is associated with a high rate of complications and death. It remains a common disease even in some developed countries of Europe and Asia. Measles still causes more than a million childhood deaths each year.
