Dutch measles cases jump by 46% in a week as primary school clusters spread

Concerns are growing in the Netherlands over the ongoing surge in measles cases, as the RIVM reported 50 new infections since last week, pushing the year's total to 158. The public health institute again highlighted the development of measles clusters in several primary schools in areas with low vaccination rates, primarily affecting children under 10 years old. At least 20 infections are tied to a school in Amsterdam, where four children have been hospitalized, according to Parool.

The RIVM reiterated that "there is no national outbreak" in the Netherlands, even though the four other schools with measles clusters are located in different municipal health regions. These public schools include Islamic and holistic or anthroposophic institutions, all noted for having a "low vaccination rate."

Aside from Amsterdam, the clusters are located in the Rotterdam-Rijnmond area, the Haaglanden region including The Hague, the Brabant-Zuidoost region including the greater Eindhoven area, and Flevoland. Local health officials from the GGD are currently conducting source and contact tracing and advising on measures to prevent further spread within these communities.

The RIVM emphasized that many of the reported cases involve individuals who contracted measles abroad and subsequently spread the virus to their close contacts, the institute stated in its Wednesday update. This pattern has contributed to multiple clusters not only in educational settings but also within families where individuals are not protected against measles through vaccination or prior infection.

Again, the RIVM pointed to specific countries as sources of infection for some of the reported cases. "In 2025, 24 patients have so far been reported in the Netherlands who contracted measles in Morocco and three people who contracted measles in Romania," the update detailed, highlighting significant measles epidemics occurring in those nations. One case was linked to an outbreak in Belgium, and another in Vietnam.

The measles virus is still spreading at a primary school in the Amsterdam neighborhood of Geuzenveld, alderman Alexander Scholtes (Public Health) said in a committee meeting on Wednesday. The number of infected children has increased from 16 last week to 20 now, he said. Four of the infected children had to be hospitalized, Parool reports.

The infected children have not all been vaccinated according to the National Vaccination Program, Scholtes said. He again urged parents to vaccinate their children. “That is the best medicine to prevent outbreaks of diseases like the measles.”

According to Scholtes, all the infections were traced back to the school or the family situation of the infected children. “This means that the cluster does not seem to be growing exponentially,” he said. He added that it is too early to say that the outbreak is under control. The municipal health service GGD is closely monitoring the situation.

The GGD has set up additional, low-threshold locations in the neighborhood where parents can take their children to get vaccinated, no appointment needed.