Outbreak of measles: threatening India’s goal to achieve elimination

Measles is an acute viral infection that disseminates through direct person-to-person contact and airborne transmission. It primarily affects children under the age of 5, and there is no known season when it is more likely to occur1. In Figure 1, the measles symptoms are depicted2. Measles incidence and mortality have decreased since the 1960s, when the vaccine first became readily available (Fig. 2). Nonetheless, 2019 had the largest number of reported deaths globally in 20 years, with over 200,000 mortalities3. Figures surmounting 40% were observed in Southeast Asia, with India being the lone nation to not implement WHO strategies to mitigate measles mortality