The anti-vaccine movement is not only present in Canada and in the United States, but also in many other countries. Now, a measles epidemic is ongoing in the Federation of Bosnia and Herzegovina and the anti-vaccine movement has contributed in part to it, a new study concludes.
Public health officials have reported 3,804 measles cases since January 2014 in the small Balkan country which has a population of 3.8 million. Most people with the disease were either not vaccinated (70%) or of unknown vaccination status (20%).
The authors conclude that “disruption of routine vaccination during the war and post-war periods”, as well as the anti-vaccination movement contribute to parental hesitance and in turn to lower immunisation coverage.
Original research paper published in Eurosurveillance on March 5, 2015.
Names and affiliations of selected authors
