Measles Cases Surge in France Following Morocco Outbreak

France is facing a resurgence of measles cases due to imported cases or cases linked to a stay in Morocco, where the epidemic is currently raging. According to Santé Publique France (SPF), in Morocco, the measles epidemic has reached a historic level and totals nearly 25,000 suspected cases, including 6,300 confirmed cases and 120 deaths. "13 imported or import-related cases following a stay in Morocco have been reported since the beginning of the year in several regions in France, compared to 26 cases in 2024, for a total of 39 imported or import-related cases between 2024 and 2025," SPF said in a statement released on February 14.

The vast majority of these 39 patients are children or young adults. Two-thirds have already been hospitalized. In January, 11 of them were admitted to hospital in France. In the coming weeks, "a spread is to be feared due to the seasonality of measles (beginning of spring) and the return from holidays from countries where epidemics are raging (Morocco and other areas of Eastern Europe, Asia and Africa, etc.)," warns the ARS of Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes to Le Parisien.

In a message titled "Reinforced vigilance in the context of the resurgence of measles in France," the French Ministry of Health also mentions an "epidemiological situation that raises fears, given the high contagiousness of the disease, of a wider spread across the national territory in the coming weeks." Justified fears: the vast majority of these "imported" cases from Morocco since last year were not vaccinated or, more rarely, were unable to say whether they had been. According to doctors and health authorities, vaccination "remains our best defense" against this highly contagious disease - one patient can infect up to 20 people.