500 measles outbreaks were reported in Europe in January 2017 according to the World Health Organization. This is concerning because there has been steady progress towards elimination of the disease and 500 outbreaks in a month is a big setback. This creates a larger problem because with people traveling to Europe and being exposed to the disease, it could spread and be brought back to people’s home countries. Currently, the most major outbreaks are in Romania and Italy. Italy has seen a sharp increase in cases, with 238 reported in January 2017. The WHO regional director of Europe urged all countries to take urgent measures to prevent the spread of measles.
In the press briefing, only three sentences were said about the outbreaks and then the speaker referred everyone to the WHO website for more information. The speaker simply mentioned that the issue was present, without going into detail. If a reporter were to do a story on the issue, they would need to use other sources. The WHO website was helpful, with much more information and statistics.
http://www.euro.who.int/en/media-centre/sections/press-releases/2017/measles-outbreaks-across-europe-threaten-progress-towards-elimination
http://www.euronews.com/2017/04/03/romania-and-italy-told-to-take-urgent-action-on-measles-outbreak