“(Some) refuse vaccines outright, believing they are dangerous. This isn’t a new phenomenon—it existed before COVID-19—but the pandemic made it worse,” said a Moroccan researcher in health policies. [Getty]
A deadly measles‘ red rash has swept through Morocco‘s schools and prisons, claiming dozens of lives and overwhelming hospitals—forcing officials to face not only the outbreak but also entrenched anti-vaccine conspiracies.
The measles outbreak—locally known as “Bouhamron”—began in the summer of last year and has since spread across the country, reaching even the tightly confined spaces of Moroccan prisons, where both inmates and staff have fallen ill.
By the time health officials declared an epidemic, measles had infected 25,000 people and claimed 120 lives.
The government responded with an urgent vaccination campaign aimed at curbing the spread of a virus that, decades ago, had been nearly eradicated in Morocco.
“We had reached the elimination stage. That meant fewer than one case per million people annually,” a spokesperson from the Health Ministry told The New Arab.
“But now, we’ve gone back to the control phase. We have to act fast,” they added.
Experts say the resurgence of the virus can be traced to declining immunisation rates, exacerbated by gaps in epidemiological monitoring and vaccine hesitancy—some of it fuelled by anti-vaccine misinformation that gained traction during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Measles, one of the most contagious diseases, spreads through the air when an infected person coughs or sneezes.
Without adequate vaccination coverage, it spreads swiftly through communities, infecting up to 20 people for every single case.
For years, the virus had been largely controlled in Morocco through widespread vaccination, but health officials now warn that a decline in childhood vaccinations has left large segments of the population vulnerable.
Tayeb Hamdi, a physician and researcher in health policies, stated that the country’s measles outbreak is not merely a statistical up tick—it is a full-fledged epidemic.
“This is a dangerous disease with serious, lifelong complications…blindness, brain inflammation—these are not minor risks,” he told TNA.
To prevent such complications, health authorities recommend two doses of the measles vaccine—one at nine months and another a few months later.
How anti-vax theories fuelled the measles outbreak?
In recent years, vaccine coverage has fallen below the critical 95 percent threshold needed to prevent outbreaks. With rates hovering at 80 percent or lower in some regions, the virus has regained a foothold in the North African country.
“Some parents have simply neglected to get their children vaccinated, thinking measles is a thing of the past”, said the Moroccan researcher in health policies.
“Others refuse vaccines outright, believing they are dangerous. This isn’t a new phenomenon—it existed before COVID-19—but the pandemic made it worse,” he added.
The Moroccan health system, already burdened by post-pandemic staffing shortages, now faces an influx of measles patients, many of whom require hospitalisation.
Around 10 percent of those infected develop severe complications, such as pneumonia or neurological issues.
The outbreak has drawn comparisons to the country’s handling of COVID-19, but health officials say there is one key difference: measles is easier to track. It presents clear symptoms such as fever, red eyes, coughing, and its easily-detected red rash.
For now, Moroccan authorities are working to prevent the situation from spiralling further. The Ministry of Health has launched targeted campaigns to reach unvaccinated children and has urged the public “to trust the science.”
“The only way out of this is vaccination. If we don’t act now, we’ll be dealing with outbreaks like this again and again,” argues Hamdi, a researcher in health policies.
