Number of measles cases rise; New cluster detected at Amsterdam primary school

The number of measles cases has risen again. A total of 37 cases were registered in the last week. This is higher than the previous two weeks when there were 25 new cases and 34 in the week before that.

According to the National Institute for Public Health and the Environment (RIVM), a new cluster has been detected. A second primary school in Amsterdam has seen several infections that are connected with each other.

Several new infections were also found at a child daycare in the GGD region Hollands Midden, which includes Leiden and Gouda. The clusters at the primary schools in The Hague and Rotterdam seem to have died down.

The string of infections at the primary schools in Rotterdam, Almere, and another primary school in Amsterdam are dying out, the RIVM reported.

The total number of infections is now at 347 since the start of the year. This is almost the same amount as the last 10 years combined. The last time that there were this many measles cases was during a national outbreak in 2013. Most of the people infected with measles were not vaccinated and had not had measles before.

The RIVM repeated their comments that this is not a national outbreak. The number of new infections has remained at a similar level for the last few weeks. The institute said that they are going to continue to follow the situation closely during the holidays, the may vacation period and the upcoming summer vacations.

People that are infected with measles can suffer with spots on the skin and infected eyes. The disease is relatively mild in most cases and often does not require treatment to cure it.

In rare cases, severe complications can arise, like pneumonia or meningitis. These types of complications can be fatal.