Measles, polio, tuberculosis: what’s causing spikes in infectious diseases?

Nature NewsCenterEN 8 min read 100% complete by Rachel NuwerOctober 25, 2025 at 04:27 PM

AI Summary

long article 8 min

Despite vaccines saving millions of lives since 1974, global immunization efforts are threatened by increasing numbers of unvaccinated children, particularly in conflict zones, funding cuts, and vaccine hesitancy. Measles, one of the world's most contagious viruses, highlights weaknesses in vaccination programs; while two doses provide lifelong protection to 99% of people, only 83% receive the first dose and 74% the second globally. This has led to over 100,000 annual deaths, mostly children in low- to middle-income countries, with cases rising by 20% between 2022 and 2023 to an estimated 10.3 million worldwide.

Key Topics & Entities

Newcastle 30% Pakistan 40% US 50% Johns Hopkins University 60% Gavi 70% World Health Organization ×280%

Keywords

vaccines 100% infectious diseases 100% measles 90% vaccine hesitancy 80% herd immunity 70% global immunization efforts 60% public health measures 50% funding cuts 50% conflict disruption 40% who support withdrawal 40%

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Negative

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Nature News

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Center (0.00)

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Classification Confidence

90%

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Johns Hopkins University

This article was automatically classified using rule-based analysis. The political bias score ranges from -1 (far left) to +1 (far right).

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vaccines infectious diseases measles vaccine hesitancy herd immunity global immunization efforts public health measures funding cuts conflict disruption who support withdrawal

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