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Health awareness

Staying positive with pulmonary arterial hypertension

From struggling to breathe to advocating for others, one woman with PAH shares her story

October 24, 2023

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A decade ago, Nola Martin was having trouble breathing, and she was gaining weight. She assumed it was simple: She started to focus on improving her diet and getting more exercise, but she wasn’t seeing results.

“Little did I know the situation was a lot more serious than that,” she said.

Martin was diagnosed with pulmonary arterial hypertension (PAH) and scleroderma. PAH is a disease of high blood pressure in the lungs. Her PAH was associated with scleroderma, a connective tissue disease that can affect the skin, blood vessels and organs and can cause PAH.

“I had two illnesses, and I had no idea what they were from. How did I get them? I was hearing all these terms I’d never heard of before.”

  • Nola Martin

Finding the right care

Martin said that the confusion and complexity of having two chronic diseases made the beginning of her journey the most challenging. Through her experience with PAH, she said she learned that “you must find a facility that is familiar with your disease.” She recommends the Pulmonary Hypertension Association as a great place to start learning about PAH.

While she knows her PAH is progressive, she chooses to stay positive.

“What I learned about advocating for myself with PAH is that no one is going to fight as hard for me as I will,” said Martin. “I know my body. I know when something is different, but I also know that my doctors are not mind readers. If I don’t share with them what is going on, including the smallest details, they can’t give me the proper treatment I need.”

Nola Martin

Staying hopeful through connection

It’s important to Martin to connect with other PAH patients and educate people about the disease.

Since her diagnosis, she’s educated numerous people about PAH and scleroderma. She believes in the importance of raising awareness and telling her story. It’s sometimes hard for her to explain to people that even if she doesn’t appear sick, she may still be dealing with difficult symptoms.

“PAH has affected so much of my daily life — simple things like vacuuming, doing the laundry, taking a shower and going to the grocery store,” Martin said. “I encourage others to be understanding and avoid making assumptions about a person with PAH based on their outward appearance.”

She urges people to be supportive and listen when someone shares their story.

Health awareness

A physician committed to advancing pneumococcal disease research

Dr. Kristen Feemster and her team work to help address pneumococcal disease for people of all ages

October 20, 2023

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Before becoming an executive director of global medical affairs at MSD, Dr. Kristen Feemster practiced as a pediatric infectious disease physician. Early in her career, Feemster and her team cared for a 1-year-old patient suffering from pneumococcal meningitis. Sadly, the child succumbed to his illness. Feemster recalls the emotions she felt knowing her own son of about the same age could also be at risk.

“I could barely stay in the room to talk to the child’s parents. As a parent myself, seeing them go through such a devastating loss led me to ask why this happened and what could have prevented the outcome,” said Feemster.

“I was determined to do what I could to help protect people of all ages from pneumococcal disease and its impact.”

At MSD, Feemster and her team work to better understand and communicate the continued epidemiologic impact of pneumococcal disease across all stages of life.

“Knowing that pneumococcal disease remains a leading cause of illness and death globally, I’m inspired by the opportunity to help address challenging and emerging diseases,” she said.

While some factors, like age or underlying medical conditions, can increase the risk of contracting an infection, anyone can get pneumococcal disease.

Noninvasive pneumococcal disease, such as otitis media or pneumonia, are also important contributors to morbidity in children. Recent reports suggest IPD remains a concern and certain serotypes continue to emerge as prevalent causes of serious disease with sometimes life-threatening complications.

Feemster and her MSD colleagues remain committed to addressing pneumococcal disease in people of all ages.

“Too many people worldwide don’t have access to effective treatment and supportive care,” she said. “It’s important that we continue to improve surveillance capabilities and explore this bacterium with such a complex epidemiology. We have learned a great deal, but there is so much left to understand and more that we can do.”

Our people

Here for Good: A lifelong mission against HIV

A colleague transformed personal grief and tragedy into a lifelong mission to help persons living with HIV

October 17, 2023

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Richard Liu’s work in HIV began in 1988, and it’s continued to this day.

“At the time, many members of the community were not only scared and frightened about HIV, but many of them were suffering from either the disease itself or the discrimination and bias directed toward them,” Liu said. “For me, education and outreach was a way to feel empowered and to empower members of my community.”

He also experienced firsthand how devastating HIV could be, falling in love with a man he’d eventually lose to AIDS.

“I found my strength when I looked back and thought about all the situations that Scott and I faced, I learned I was stronger than I ever believed I was,” Liu said. “And I kind of knew after that I needed to do something more. My purpose at that time was loving and caring for him until the end, and I needed to find another purpose. And that purpose became fighting HIV.”

Liu followed that purpose into a role as one of Philadelphia’s youngest HIV program directors, focusing on promoting prevention, testing and care. His passion eventually brought him to MSD, where he is a member of our global marketing division assigned to the HIV franchise, leading the development of promotional content for health care providers.

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“I'm doing exactly what I've always wanted to do: be useful, be valuable and use what I can to fight HIV. And I've been given this incredible role at this company to do that.”

— Richard Liu

As a part of the MSD team, Liu, now happily married, has always felt he could bring his authentic self to work — and that feeling started during his interview with a recruiter. There were some moments in his personal history during his earlier work as an AIDS activist that he knew he’d have to explain.

“I wanted to disclose my arrest record because I thought it might come up in a background check,” Liu explained. “I was charged with obstruction of highway because I was participating in AIDS protests, so I wanted to be clear why I was arrested and given those charges.”

The instinct to be candid was a good one, he learned.  “When I was offered the job, I really felt like, wow, this company is willing to recognize my authentic self, including my activism.”

Liu’s estimation of MSD and our values — and the part he can play in the work we do for patients — hasn’t changed.

“I feel like my fight against HIV is perfectly aligned with our company’s commitment toward innovation and to persons living with HIV,” he said.

Health awareness

Acting early in cancer detection

Diagnosing cancer early, before it has spread, may potentially lead to better outcomes

October 16, 2023

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Time is important with a cancer diagnosis. People with cancer may have the opportunity for better outcomes when the disease is detected early. And with increases in routine cancer screening, more cancer cases can be diagnosed before the disease has spread to other parts of the body.

“We’ve seen incredible progress in the fight against cancer in recent decades, driven by advances in early detection and the availability of new treatment options,” said Dr. Scot Ebbinghaus, vice president, oncology clinical research. “This progress makes me optimistic for a future where cancer is detected and treated as early as possible, giving patients the greatest chance to live cancer-free. We can’t rest now — I’m hopeful that we will continue to build on what we’ve learned about helping people with earlier stages of disease.”

But important work remains to continue to improve care and diagnose cancer early.

What is early-stage cancer?

After someone is diagnosed with cancer, doctors will try to figure out how much cancer is in the body and if their disease has spread — this process is called staging, which can help guide treatment decisions. Different cancer stages have different treatments and possible outcomes, and they’re associated with different odds of recurrence. 

Early-stage is a term that can be used to describe cancer that’s early in its growth, before it has spread to other parts of the body. However, each person’s experience with cancer is unique, and what doctors may define as early-stage can vary by the type of cancer.

When cancer is diagnosed, the goals of treatments are to slow, stop and possibly eliminate tumor growth.

Treatment may be more likely to be successful if it’s started before the cancer has spread, when surgery is a potential option. However, even after surgery, there is a risk that the cancer may spread to other parts of the body. Additional treatment may help lower that risk. In certain instances, other treatment options can be used before surgery (neoadjuvant) to help to reduce the size of the tumor, and/or after surgery (adjuvant) to lower the chance of the cancer from potentially coming back.

Detecting and treating cancer early may help reduce the risk of recurrence and increase the potential for survival.

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Innovation

MSD’s legacy of antimicrobial innovation and action

Delivering on our commitment to fight infectious diseases for more than a century

October 12, 2023

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For more than 100 years, MSD has contributed to the discovery and development of novel medicines and vaccines to fight infectious diseases. With the growing burden of antimicrobial resistance (AMR), we’ve focused on stopping the increasing threat of AMR. 

1930s

MSD Research Laboratories played a central role in the development of sulfas, the first synthetic antimicrobial.

vials on a manufacturing line

1940s

In collaboration with Rutgers University, we developed streptomycin, the first antibiotic effective against tuberculosis. We also helped to develop one of the first methods for mass production of penicillin.

1950s & 1960s

We developed multiple novel methods to prevent infectious diseases, including pediatric vaccines.

1970s & 1980s

We received U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) approval for two vaccines, as well as three antibiotics that treat a variety of bacterial infections.

1990s & 2000s

MSD received U.S. FDA approval for two antifungals, as well as licenses for two vaccines.​

2002

With resistance to antibiotics developing faster through people, animals and the environment, we launched one of the world’s largest and longest-running antimicrobial resistance surveillance studies. Called the Study for Monitoring Antimicrobial Resistance Trends (SMART), the program enables researchers to monitor and identify trends in the development of AMR.

2010s

We launched an Antimicrobial Stewardship (AMS) Investigator Initiated Studies program, supporting investigator-based, peer-reviewed research supporting the implementation of AMS principles across the globe, with over 20% of studies occurring in low-and middle-income countries.

2016

We created the MSD Exploratory Science Center in Cambridge, Massachusetts, focusing on the earliest stages of research into the underlying biology of human disease.

2016-2017

We supported the first United Nations high-level meeting on AMR and subsequent political declaration in 2016, which set policy action on AMR in motion.

As a next step, we joined the newly founded AMR Industry Alliance – a network of over 100 pharmaceutical industry partners working to provide sustainable solutions to help curb antimicrobial resistance.

2020

MSD, along with a group of more than 20 leading biopharmaceutical companies, launched the AMR Action Fund to bring 2-4 new antibiotics to patients by the end of the decade.

2020s

Our staff have championed government actions to create supportive markets for antimicrobial innovation, including the PASTEUR Act in the U.S., inclusion of transferable exclusivity extensions in the EU pharmaceutical strategy, and other incentives around the world.

By collaborating with policymakers, MSD aims to improve appropriate antibiotic use globally.

Going forward

In recognition of our leadership in both human and animal health, MSD represents industry in the One Health Global Leaders Group on Antimicrobial Resistance, which advocates for a One Health approach to help ensure antibiotics remain an important tool in improving and maintaining human and animal health.

Health awareness

Triple-negative breast cancer: risks, signs and symptoms, and diagnosis

Learn about this aggressive type of breast cancer, including risk factors, signs and symptoms

October 12, 2023

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Breast cancer is the most commonly diagnosed cancer in the world. There are many different types and subtypes of breast cancer that are defined by where in the breast they begin, how much they have grown or spread and how they behave. One of the more aggressive types is triple-negative breast cancer (TNBC).

What’s triple-negative breast cancer?

The tumors of patients with breast cancer may be tested for three receptors, or proteins, that make cancer grow. If the tumor tests negative for estrogen and progesterone receptors and does not over express HER2, then that patient is diagnosed with TNBC.

Worldwide, there were more than 2.3 million patients diagnosed with breast cancer in 2020:

~10-15%

of people with breast cancer are diagnosed with TNBC

TNBC characteristically has a high recurrence rate within the first five years after diagnosis.

Who’s at risk for triple-negative breast cancer?

Primary risk factors for TNBC include:

  • Sex: People assigned female at birth are at higher risk for TNBC compared to people assigned male at birth.
  • Race /ethnicity: Non-Hispanic Black women are nearly two times as likely to have TNBC as non-Hispanic white women.
  • Age: TNBC is more common in women younger than 40.
  • Genetic mutations: Mutations in genes such as BRCA1 and BRCA2 are strongly associated with TNBC.

What are the signs and symptoms of breast cancer?

TNBC can have the same signs and symptoms as other common types of breast cancer.

Most breast cancers are detected before any symptoms appear through regular breast cancer screenings. The signs and symptoms of breast cancer differ from person to person, and some will never show symptoms.

However, some signs of breast cancer to watch out for include:

  • Swelling of all or part of a breast
  • Skin dimpling
  • Breast or nipple pain
  • Nipple retraction
  • Nipple or breast skin that’s red, dry, flaking or thickened
  • Nipple discharge
  • Swollen lymph nodes, under the arm or near the collar bone

How is triple-negative breast cancer diagnosed?

If you’re experiencing symptoms, speak with your doctor, especially if you have a higher risk of having TNBC. Some screening tests include:

  • Mammogram: An X-ray of the breast that allows doctors to look for changes in breast tissue. Mammograms can often find breast cancer early when it’s easiest to treat.
  • Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI): An MRI uses radio waves and strong magnets to make detailed pictures of the inside of the breast. Doctors use MRIs along with mammograms to screen people who are considered at high risk for breast cancer.
  • Ultrasound: An ultrasound uses sound waves and their echoes to make computer pictures of the inside of the breast. While not typically used as a routine screening test for breast cancer, an ultrasound can be useful for looking at some breast changes such as lumps – especially when they can be felt but not seen on a mammogram.
  • Biopsy: After a breast cancer diagnosis is made with a biopsy, a health care provider may determine whether a patient has TNBC with an assessment of cells from that biopsy, which are checked for estrogen, progesterone and HER2 receptors, to determine the cancer subtype.

How is triple-negative breast cancer staged?

Doctors use five stages to classify triple-negative breast cancer and inform next steps in your care plan:

Stage 0

Cancers diagnosed at stage 0 are confined to the milk ducts or lobules of the breast.

Stage 1

Cancers diagnosed at stage 1 are small, localized and have not spread beyond one nearby lymph node. Stage 1 TNBC is still considered early stage, so 91% of people diagnosed with this stage of cancer are alive five years after their diagnosis. Stage 1 cancer can be classified as either stage 1A or stage 1B dependent on the size of the tumor and whether there is evidence of cancer on the nearby lymph nodes.

Stage 2

Stage 2 TNBC may have spread regionally (beyond the initial site), but not beyond the lymph nodes in the underarm area. Stage 2 cancer can be classified as either stage 2A or stage 2B dependent on the size of the tumor and whether the breast cancer has spread to the lymph nodes. For patients whose cancer has spread to regional lymph nodes, 66% of people diagnosed are still alive five years after their diagnosis.

Stage 3

Stage 3 TNBC has extended beyond the immediate region of the tumor and may have invaded nearby lymph nodes and muscles but has not spread to distant organs. At this stage, TNBC can be classified as stage 3A, 3B or 3C, depending on the size of the tumor and how far it has spread. Stage 3 TNBC is considered to have spread regionally, and 66% of patients who are diagnosed at this stage are still alive five years after diagnosis.

Stage 4

Stage 4 TNBC, also known as metastatic breast cancer, has spread distantly to other areas or organs of the body, such as the brain, bones, lung or liver. This stage is not curable but is usually treatable, and current advances in research and medical technology mean that more people are living longer by managing the disease as a chronic illness. Twelve percent of patients diagnosed at this stage survive five years post-diagnosis.

Being diagnosed with TNBC can be scary. By speaking with your care team, you can better understand your options and the best path forward.

Innovation

Uniting research and manufacturing to help patients faster

The opening of our updated site in Ireland will increase collaboration and speed to market

October 5, 2023

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Great science requires collaboration. At MSD, scientists and engineers from across the company work together to achieve our purpose of using the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives.

And at our new state-of-the-art site in Dunboyne, Ireland, we’re bringing together our research and manufacturing teams for the first time to support stronger collaboration during the development and manufacturing of clinical supplies.

“At Dunboyne, we’ll see the power of teamwork between the teams, creating a model that becomes our new way of working,” said Sanat Chattopadhyay, executive vice president and president, MSD Manufacturing Division. “This site offers the chance to harness the expertise of our exceptional manufacturing and research teams.”

Representatives from MSD meet with Leo Varadkar (center), the country’s prime minister — known as the taoiseach — and other Irish officials to celebrate the milestone.

Two facilities, one team

The two components of our Dunboyne site will play a pivotal role in our biologics pipeline. Combined, they represent our first single-use commercialization facility dedicated to manufacturing key biologics for clinical trials, product registration and launch. At the nearby manufacturing facility, teams design the process engineering necessary to produce biologics at a large scale.

The close collaboration of these teams will significantly increase our speed to market and ultimately quicken our ability to help patients.

"This integrated approach will use state-of-the-art scientific and technological innovations to get our medicines to people around the world who need them the most, faster than ever before.”

— Mike Kress

Senior vice president, chemistry, MSD Research Laboratories
Our people

Meet the scientist advancing respiratory health and inspiring women and Latino scientists

Dr. Carmen La Rosa is uncovering new ways to help people with respiratory conditions

October 3, 2023

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Growing up, Dr. Carmen La Rosa shared a room with her younger brother who struggled with asthma. She saw the impact of asthma on her brother’s ability to play and how it worried her parents when he was sick.

She also watched her mother care for her brother around the clock when he was sick. It was this experience that sparked her interest in medicine. Over the years, La Rosa was inspired by how much his condition improved with changes in therapy and a better understanding of how to manage his asthma.

La Rosa, second from left, with her husband and children at her son’s medical school’s white coat ceremony.

La Rosa, second from left, with her husband and children at her son’s medical school’s white coat ceremony.

La Rosa’s family encouraged her interests in science and helping people. Today, she is the first woman in her family to become a doctor and is a leader in MSD’s respiratory research.

As a physician and clinical epidemiologist, La Rosa has worked in multiple therapeutic areas. But it’s through respiratory research where she’s currently bringing together her desire to help others and her professional goal to advance knowledge of lung health.

Delving into the science behind respiratory conditions

An important area of La Rosa’s research focus has been chronic cough, which is defined as a cough that lasts longer than eight weeks. Her team is exploring the physiology behind this condition to better understand it.

“I’ve seen how chronic cough can affect patients’ lives — physically, socially and emotionally — this is a story that needs to be told,” La Rosa said. “I’ve known many people who are struggling with respiratory diseases, and I want to help change that. As our research moves the field forward, I believe that there’s hope for these patients.” 

Mentoring tomorrow’s leaders

Outside of the lab, La Rosa enjoys volunteering in her community through our employee business resource group for Hispanic and Latino colleagues and speaking with Latino students about careers in science. Her goal is to inspire other women and Latinos to pursue careers in research and medicine.

When La Rosa first started her journey to become a physician-scientist, she was unaware that drug development was an option. La Rosa wants the next generation to know about the possibilities available to them in medical research and inspire them to pursue careers in science.

“Research offers you the opportunity to explore new areas in medicine, develop study designs and ultimately uncover new treatments that may help people in need,” La Rosa said. “This purpose keeps me grounded, even on the most challenging days.”

Sustainability

Diversity and inclusion strengthen everything we do

From fostering an inclusive and supportive culture to working with diverse suppliers, diversity and inclusion are integral to helping us better serve patients

September 20, 2023

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As MSD’s chief diversity officer, Celeste Warren strives to ensure that our policies and practices provide an equal opportunity for all so that our workforce reflects the diversity of the world.

“This enables us to better understand the needs of the patients, health care providers and customers we serve,” said Warren.

And that means embedding a culture of diversity, equity and inclusion at every level of the organization, a commitment that’s central to our business growth as well as to our employees’ well-being.

While our strategic approach to building a diverse, inclusive and positive environment is part of the work we do every day, we also dedicate a full month to fostering meaningful discussions and learning. Making September Global Diversity & Inclusion (GD&I) Experience Month allows us to pause, reflect and celebrate all our important work and identify new opportunities for growth.

Prioritizing diversity and inclusion benefits employees and our business

Since our first GD&I Experience Month in 2015, we’ve made a lot of progress on our diversity and inclusion efforts in our workplace, including:

  • Strong membership growth across our 10 employee business resource groups (EBRGs), with approximately 21,500 employees who belong to EBRGs.
  • Launch of an internal Ally Resource Center to provide access to resources and educational materials to support each employee’s D&I learning journey.
  • Establishment of an internal Ally Ambassador Program to create a network of D&I leaders who provide resources, share knowledge and facilitate conversations to embed a culture of belonging, allyship for all, and psychological safety across our organization.
  • Development of an integrated disability inclusion strategy to create a disability-confident workplace culture where people with disabilities feel accepted, connected and can contribute to our purpose of using the power of leading-edge science to save and improve lives around the world.

“Building and enriching our diverse and inclusive environment involves everyone.”

  • Celeste Warren
    Vice president of global diversity and inclusion

“When every single employee embraces a welcoming mindset and can fully appreciate the experiences of others, then better discussions, decisions and outcomes will follow,” said Warren.

This approach also applies to how we do business, as we continue building momentum in a variety of priority areas, such as our work to:

  • Increase diversity in our clinical trials.
  • Ensure our marketing and commercial strategies are relevant to our diverse patients around the globe.
  • Provide opportunities to diverse suppliers in sourcing products and services.

“While we celebrate all we’ve accomplished and what makes us unique during GD&I Experience Month, we know we have more work to do,” said Warren. “We’ll continue to share best practices with other organizations, listen for new ideas, debate points of view and create environmental, cultural and business change to break down barriers and become better allies, role models, colleagues and citizens.”

Health awareness

Measles: symptoms and signs

Learn more about what the measles virus is and how measles spreads

September 20, 2023

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Read the Spanish version – Sarampión: síntomas y signos

what is measles illustration

What is measles?

Measles is a highly contagious virus that lives in the mucus of the nose and throat of an infected person. Symptoms appear 10 to 12 days after contact with the virus.

Common measles symptoms include:

common measles symptoms

How measles spreads

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Is measles airborne?

The measles virus can live for up to 2 hours in an airspace where an infected person coughed or sneezed.

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What is the measles transmission rate?

If one person has measles, up to 90% of at-risk people close to that person will also become infected.

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How long is measles contagious?

Infected people can spread measles to others 4 days before through 4 days after the rash appears.

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How long is the measles incubation period?

After being exposed to the measles virus, it can incubate for up to 21 days.

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Does measles cause complications?

Measles can cause serious health complications, including ear infections, diarrhea, pneumonia, and encephalitis (an inflammation of the brain), impacting the daily lives of patients and their caretakers (e.g., can result in lost work time or missed school days).

Measles can be serious and lead to complications 

  • Measles can cause serious health complications, affecting several organ systems such as ears, eyes leading to blindness, gastrointestinal tract, central nervous system including inflammation of the brain and death.
  • Approximately 30 percent of reported measles cases have one or more complications, such as encephalitis or pneumonia.
  • Approximately 567 people die globally from measles-related complications each day, that equates to 24 deaths every hour.

Understanding measles outbreaks

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Between 2000-2018, annual reported measles deaths decreased by 73% globally.

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The number of measles cases increased 659% in 2019 (874,304 cases) compared to 2016 (132,490 cases)

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Natural disaster and/or conflict can put countries at greater risk for deadly measles outbreaks by damaging health infrastructure, interrupting health services and placing people in overcrowded residential camps.

Before the introduction of a measles vaccine in 1963, measles caused an estimated 2.6 million deaths annually.

149 countries reported 874,304 measles cases globally in 2019

global map with measles cases

World Health Organization (WHO) member states reported more measles cases in 2019 than in any single year since 1996.

In 2020, the number of globally reported measles cases was lower, likely due in part to regulations put in place during the COVID-19 pandemic. However, during the same year, more than 22 million infants missed their first dose of measles-containing vaccine, 3 million more than in 2019, placing communities at heightened risk for outbreaks. In 2022, the WHO and the United Nations Children Fund (UNICEF) reported a worldwide 79% increase in measles cases in the first two months of the year as compared with the same period in 2021, and warn of the risk for preventable diseases as restrictions continue to ease.

Measles is still common in many parts of the world, and travelers with measles can bring the disease to countries that have largely eliminated it. Measles can spread rapidly.

For more information, including the latest statistics on outbreaks, speak with your doctor or visit the WHO website.

Related links

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Infectious diseases

Our focus has always been on the prevention and treatment of diseases that threaten people and communities around the world.
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Discovery & development

We follow the science where we can make the greatest difference, now and in the future.
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Research

The journey to discovery is guided by science – and inspired by patients