A European Commission
spokeswoman said Monday "we are very concerned that three of the
seven countries with the highest incidence of measles cases in
Europe are EU countries".
According to the European Centre for Disease Prevention and
Control, the three countries are Italy, France and Greece.
"The low immunisation of one country puts at risk the safety
and health of citizens all over Europe," the spokeswoman said.
"Vaccination is an act of solidarity," she said.
The Italian government has made once-compulsory
school-entrance vaccinations voluntary.
Measles cases rose to a 10-year high in Europe this year, the
World Health Organisation said Monday.
The number of cases of adults and children with the disease
hit more than 41,000, the WHO said.
This was more than the number registered in a whole year in
the last 10 years, the WHO said.
Italy is one of the seven countries in the 53 countries of
the WHO European region where more than 1,000 cases have been
found.
Ukraine was top with 23,000.
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