Podgorica, (MINA) - There is a real risk of a measles outbreak in Montenegro, the Public Health Institute (IJZ) stated, adding that the current vaccination data indicate the need to urgently increase immunization coverage.

The IJZ told the MINA News Agency that the overall coverage with the first dose of the MMR vaccine in Montenegro has declined significantly in recent years, especially among the youngest population.

According to them, among elementary school students (born from 2011 to 2019), coverage is at 87.1 percent, while among preschoolers (born in the period between 2020 and 2024) it is significantly lower at just 51.3 percent.

“Observed by individual years, a continuous decline is noted: 78.9 percent among children born in 2020, 69.5 percent (2021), 56.4 percent (2022), 35.3 percent (2023) and only 13.2 percent (2024), which indicates a serious downward trend in vaccination coverage”, said the IJZ.

Those data, as warned by IJZ, are particularly concerning considering that herd immunity for diseases prevented by the MMR vaccine, such as measles, is considered achieved only when vaccination coverage exceeds 95 percent.

Asked whether there is a risk of a measles epidemic in Montenegro, in light of vaccination rates, the IJZ answered in the affirmative.

According to them, an additional risk lies in the fact that measles is an extremely contagious disease, so even a slight drop in vaccination coverage can enable its spread within the population.

They said that during 2024, 35 cases of measles were registered in Montenegro, compared to 12 in the past year, while since the beginning of this year no new cases has been registered.