Hospitals in Antwerp are seeing an "alarming" rise in the number of children with measles – a highly infectious disease that can be deadly in extreme cases. Vaccination rates against the virus are falling.

The Antwerp ZAS hospitals diagnosed measles in 15 children in recent weeks; two of them were admitted to the Intensive Care Unit. In the past three months alone, the number of children with measles recorded in the hospital group was higher than in the whole of 2024.

"Last night, four children were brought in with measles. These are very high numbers, so we are worried. We have never experienced an outbreak like this before," Daan Van Brusselen, paediatric infectious disease expert at ZAS and UAntwerpen told VRT. "The outbreak seems to be mainly in the middle of the city."

At least 55 people in Flanders have been infected with the measles virus this year, but the Flemish Department of Care expects the actual number to be higher. Of the confirmed cases, 40% are from the Antwerp province. In Wallonia, nine cases were reported at the start of April.

"We think this is because of the very low vaccination coverage. The patients we see in central Antwerp are young children who are not sufficiently protected," Van Brusselen said. "In the rest of Flanders, the infections were found in all age groups."

Protected for life

In Belgium, all children are offered a measles shot at one year old and a repeat shot between the ages of 7-9. While the shots are not mandatory, doctors are stressing the "vital importance" of getting children vaccinated. Additionally, many 30- to 45-year-olds in Belgium are also at risk because their generation was not always (fully) vaccinated during childhood.

Therefore, the health authorities and hospitals are explicitly calling on all citizens to double-check their vaccination status and, if necessary, get a free shot from their GP. "With two doses, you are protected for life," said Joris Moonens of the Department of Care.

People can contract measles if they have not had the disease before and have not (or incompletely) been vaccinated against it. Those who have been vaccinated twice are not at risk.

At the end of March, the measles virus was also found in sewage water in Brussels, according to research by KU Leuven. "The virus is on the rise all over Europe. This is alarming. The Netherlands already counted 45 cases in a fortnight, and Spain and France are also getting into trouble," warned lab manager Elke Wollants.

A health worker administers a measles vaccine. Credit: Savo Prelevic / AFP / Belga

According to a recent report by the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control (ECDC), Belgium ranks fourth in Europe for the highest number of infections between 1 February 2024 and 31 January 2025, with 551 cases.

The measles virus is one of the most contagious viruses in existence. Like Covid-19, it spreads through respiratory droplets and remains airborne for up to two hours after an infected person leaves an area. However, the measles virus is much more contagious: with measles, an infected person can infect 12 to 18 unvaccinated people. With Covid-19, an infected person infects an average of 1 to 1.5 others.

The disease causes high fever, respiratory symptoms and skin rash, but can also lead to serious complications, including pneumonia and encephalitis (inflammation of the brain). In extreme cases, the disease is fatal. Earlier this year, two unvaccinated children died of measles in the US – the first deaths linked to the disease in nearly a decade in the country.

Vaccination remains the best protection against the disease. However, vaccination rates are falling (particularly in the US), mainly due to a wave of disinformation about vaccines during and after the Covid-19 pandemic.

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