The worrying resurgence of measles: Catalonia has one in five cases in the state.

BarcelonaOf all the vaccine-preventable diseases, measles is the most contagious, and for the past three years, the number of cases and outbreaks in Europe has been increasing, including in Catalonia. Health authorities have considered the disease eliminated throughout the country for almost a decade because the cases detected are imported from other countries where community transmission is occurring. But with the progressive increase in infections, the possibility of indigenous outbreaks, of the disease once again becoming endemic and circulating freely, is greater. This week, for example, a worrying outbreak was detected in Garraf, with 13 confirmed cases and 200 people suspected of being infected. It originated within an anti-vaccine family, as reported by ARA. Furthermore, according to this newspaper, there are six cases that could be confirmed in the coming days, bringing the outbreak to nearly twenty infected people.

"We don't know how far this outbreak will go; we are taking all the measures within our reach to break the chains of contagion," assures the Secretary of Public Health, Esteve Fernández, who reiterated that the best way to combat the disease is through vaccination. In fact, he lamented that the source of the infections is among unvaccinated people—ten of those affected were not protected—most of them young people. "It's very serious and it worries us a lot. We don't understand how this can happen in 2025. I don't know if it's a fad, but not vaccinating children goes against all scientific evidence," Fernández argues. The secretary has told ARA that during the week, the primary care centers (CAP) in Garraf will begin calling families to vaccinate children under five who are not immunized or who have not received the two doses necessary to complete the regimen. The Health Department will also send them text messages.

Despite the current increase in cases, the World Health Organization (WHO) granted Spain the status of disease elimination in 2016 and still maintains this status. However, the impact of the Covid-19 pandemic interrupted the vaccination of a significant portion of the population worldwide, something that has caused cases to skyrocket in our environmentNew outbreaks have also appeared in Catalonia. With the aim of combating this global scenario of rising cases, the Ministry of Health developed the Strategic Plan for the Elimination of Measles and Rubella 2021-2025, which sought to improve existing vaccination coverage and strengthen infection detection during the post-pandemic period. However, cases are now on the rise: 227 infections were detected last year, and since the beginning of 2025, 349 have already been identified. In Catalonia, infections are already more than double those in 2024, approaching 80 positive cases.

One in five cases in the State are reported from Catalonia, although it is true that it is the second-most populous autonomous community and, if we look at incidences, there are other territories in the State where measles has had a greater impact. The autonomous communities that have detected the most cases this year are Andalusia, with 94; the Basque Country, with 51; the Balearic Islands, with 39; and the autonomous city of Melilla, with 30. The vast majority of cases originate from other countries or are related to an imported outbreak. According to data from the Ministry of Health, three out of four people who have been infected had not received the vaccine. Therefore, they reiterate that the best way to prevent the disease and eliminate it is through vaccination.

"Massive outbreak" worldwide

It should be noted that these figures are part of a "massive resurgence" of the disease in Europe that began last year, with more than 35,000 infections, according to the annual report of the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC). Among European countries, there has been a significant focus of infection in Romania, which accounted for more than 80% of cases in the Old Continent last year and the vast majority of deaths, with 22 fatalities. This year, so far, it has already reported more than 8,000 infections. But you don't have to go that far to see higher infection rates than those existing in the State, since for example this year in France more than 800 infected people have been detected, in the United Kingdom, 742 and in the Netherlands, about 500.

and the Africa Disease Prevention (Africa CDC), more than 44,000 suspected cases (not all of which have turned out to be positive) and 95 deaths have been reported. In fact, the first imported cases detected in Catalonia At the beginning of the year, they came from the epidemic that the North African country has been experiencing for more than a year. However, in many other countries on the neighboring continent, the disease is endemic, meaning its circulation is widespread and the cases and outbreaks are indigenous. Health authorities have reported 9,500 confirmed positive cases, mainly in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Somalia, the Republic of Guinea, Ethiopia, Sudan, and Sudan.

The importance of vaccination

Given this scenario, the priority for public health professionals is to strengthen infection detection and intensify vaccination among groups at risk of illness. Measles can be especially serious in children, immunocompromised individuals, and pregnant women, and in some cases, it can be fatal. Last year in Europe, the most affected were infants under one year of age, who are especially vulnerable because the first dose of the vaccine is indicated for children from twelve months of age. However, according to the ECDC, 90% of children between one and four years of age who became ill in a European country had not received the vaccine. That is why it is important to immunize them.

In Catalonia, the first dose is given at twelve months of age and the second at three years of age, and the Department of Health also recommends it for all adults who are not vaccinated or have not suffered from the disease. According to WHO recommendations, to achieve community protection, vaccination coverage of 95% of the population must be achieved with two doses. In Catalonia, in 2024, 95.8% of two-year-olds had received one dose and 92.7% of five-year-olds had received two doses. Following the outbreak in Garraf, Fernández believes that "there is no cause for alarm," but assures that they will take advantage of the opportunity to recommend vaccination to all families with children under five who have not received the second dose, thus moving toward better group protection.