Measles outbreak in town where locals believe God forbids vaccinations

At least 10 people have been infected with measles in a Dutch village where many parents have not vaccinated their children due to religious reasons.

Nine children and one adult were diagnosed with the disease in Urk, a Protestant fishing village where vaccination rates are low compared to the national average.

Around 61 per cent of people in the village have been vaccinated against measles, compared to 92.9 per cent in the wider population.

The Dutch health service said it was investigating whether it was necessary to inoculate or administer antibodies to those who have been in contact with infected patients, Dutch newspaper De Telegraaf reported.

Many people in the village believe only God has power over life and death and so vaccinations are not permitted, according to the newspaper.

A spokesman for the Netherlands National Institute for Public Health and the Environment told the paper the infected people come from two families who are in close contact with each other.

They said that meant the cases were isolated.

Earlier this year, preliminary data from the World Health Organisation (WHO) revealed the global resurgence of measles has continued, with the number of cases quadrupling in the first three months of 2019 when compared to the same period last year.

Initial figures found 112,163 cases were reported across 170 countries by April, compared to 28,124 in the same period last year.

A global poll conducted earlier this month found Europeans are the most likely to believe vaccines were unsafe and ineffective.

In Europe, 16 per cent of people said they thought the jab was unsafe, and in the UK one in 11 agreed.

Overall, around 79 per cent of the world’s population said they thought vaccines were safe and 92 per cent of parents said their children had been vaccinated.