More and more Europeans are being infected with measles. Last year, the highest level of new cases in 25 years was recorded, and the most affected country is Romania. Of the approximately 18,000 cases registered in Europe between June 2024 and May 2025, 13,000 were in Romania.
Only 62 percent of Romanians are vaccinated against measles (compared to 97 percent in Sweden). According to the World Health Organization (WHO), a vaccination coverage of 95 percent is required to prevent outbreaks.
Fear of autism
Behind the country's low figures is a widespread vaccination skepticism in combination with an underfunded healthcare system and mistrust of authorities in many parts of the country.
When staff from the healthcare authority visit remote villages in northeastern Romania, they often encounter parents who believe that the vaccine can cause autism, among other things.
In the village of Raucesti, 34-year-old Elena Armenia says she has read on the internet about the link between autism and vaccines and therefore does not want to vaccinate her youngest child.
I cannot shake off the fear, she says.
Another mother who does not want to give her name is also hesitant to vaccinate her child.
I have heard that the vaccine is dangerous, she says.
It is not only in Romania that the fear of vaccines being harmful has increased. In the USA, where President Trump appointed the prominent vaccine skeptic Robert F Kennedy as health minister, the number of vaccinated children has decreased sharply. Recently, the country was hit by the worst measles outbreak in three decades.
A number of scientific studies in several countries have dismissed the alleged links between vaccines and autism.
”Out of control”
In Romania, vaccinations are free but not compulsory. President Nicusor Dan recently urged the authorities to double their efforts to "regain people's trust" and combat the flood of conspiracy theories and false news that has eroded trust.
Epidemiologist Daniela Gafita, who travels around the countryside in northeastern Romania to inform about the risks of measles, believes that the situation is ”out of control”. She often encounters vaccine-skeptical parents and demands stricter rules, including requirements for children to be vaccinated to attend school.
Even if such measures are unpopular and go against what many want, she says.
Measles is a highly contagious disease that causes high fever, dry cough, irritated eyes, and rash. Complications such as pneumonia are common, and one in 1,000 people develops severe brain inflammation. Between June 2024 and May 2025, eight people died of measles in Romania.
