Globe in Brief

Measles cases rising in multiple countries

Measles cases are surging worldwide, and 10 countries are leading the way.

In March, UNICEF reported that 98 countries reported more cases of measles in 2018 than they had in 2017, “eroding progress against this highly preventable, but potentially deadly disease.” The global children’s agency said 10 countries accounted for 74 percent of the total increase in measles: Ukraine, the Philippines, Brazil, Yemen, Venezuela, Serbia, Madagascar, Sudan, Thailand and France. The U.S. is also in the middle of a measles outbreak, experiencing a sixfold increase in the vaccine-preventable disease between 2017 and 2018.

A child is vaccinated against measles in the Phillippines, one of several countries dealing with outbreaks of the disease.

Photo by Alejandro Ernesto, courtesy Picture Alliance/Getty Images

“These cases haven’t happened overnight,” said UNICEF Executive Director Henrietta Fore, in a news release. “Just as the serious outbreaks we are seeing today took hold in 2018, lack of action today will have disastrous consequences for children tomorrow.”

Ukraine, the Philippines and Brazil experienced the largest increases in measles cases. Measles in the Philippines increased eightfold in 2018, according to the World Health Organization. Vaccinations in the country have dropped in the wake of the nation’s dengue vaccine crisis, in which at least 10 people died.

For more information, visit www.unicef.org.

Vehicle emissions linked to early deaths

Vehicle tailpipe emissions are linked to hundreds of thousands of premature deaths around the world, according to a new report.

Released in February, the report examined the transportation sector’s impact on ambient particulate matter and ozone and their associated health effects.

Researchers estimated that emissions from the transportation sector were responsible for 11.7 percent of global particulate matter and ozone mortality in 2010 and 11.4 percent in 2015. Those percentages translate into about 360,000 premature deaths from particulate matter and ozone worldwide in 2010, and about 385,000 premature deaths in 2015, according to the report, which was released by the International Council on Clean Transportation and the Climate and Clean Air Coalition.

In 2015, the report found that particulate matter and ozone pollution from transportation emissions resulted in 7.8 million years of life lost and about $1 trillion in health damages.

Despite adoption of stringent vehicle emission regulations, the transportation sector remains a major contributor to air pollution, the researchers said.

For more information on the report, “A Global Snapshot of the Air Pollution-Related Health Impacts of Transportation Sector Emissions in 2010 and 2015,” visit www.theicct.org.

Out-of-pocket health costs a major burden

More countries are investing in health, but out-of-pocket medical spending still pushes millions into extreme poverty, the World Health Organization reported in February.

In the report on global health expenditures, researchers found that spending on health is growing faster than the rest of the global economy, accounting for 10 percent of global gross domestic product. Domestic public funding for health in low- and middle-income nations is increasing, external health funding in middle-income countries is declining, and reliance on out-of-pocket spending is decreasing worldwide. Still, more than 35 percent of health spending per country comes from out-of-pocket expenses, which WHO says drives 100 million people into extreme poverty every year.

For more information on “Public Spending on Health: A Closer Look at Global Trends,” visit www.who.int.

Cancers undiagnosed in children globally

Nearly half of childhood cancer cases globally may be going undiagnosed, a new study finds.

Published in February in The Lancet Oncology, the study estimated almost 400,000 new cases of childhood cancer every year, though current records only account for about 200,000 cases.

The study, based on global health and cancer registry data, makes under-diagnosis predictions for 200 countries, estimating that undiagnosed cases could account for more than half of the total childhood cancer cases in Africa, South Central Asia and the Pacific Islands. In comparison, only 3 percent of childhood cancer cases are undiagnosed in North America and Europe.

Researchers estimated that 6.7 million cases of childhood cancer will occur between 2015 and 2030, but 2.9 million of those may be missed without health system improvements.