The number of patients in Sarajevo Canton diagnosed with measles has increased to 781 since the beginning of the year, according to the Institute for Public Healthcare.

Sarajevo's municipalities of Novi Grad and Novo Sarajevo count the largest number of infected citizens, 292 and 138. Other municipalities follow with a lower number, 92 in the Centre Municipality, 37 in the Stari Grad Municipality, 151 in Ilidza and so on.

Children aged between two and five are affected, with 263 diagnosed with measles, followed by newborns aged between six to 24 months.

According to authorities, immunisation coverage in Sarajevo Canton is significantly lower than needed to reach collective immunity especially owing to low MMR vaccination percentage over the past few years. The reason for that is not the lack of vaccines but the parents’ decision not to treat their children with the MMR vaccine although it is mandatory.

Most of the diagnosed patients, 718 of them were never vaccinated, 24 did not undergo full vaccination and seven were vaccinated, said the Institute.

Over 100 patients were hospitalised in the period between January 18 and May 31.