Dec. 4 (Bloomberg) -- Measles deaths tumbled 74 percent worldwide from 2000 through 2007, the result of a campaign to vaccinate children in developing countries, world health officials said today.

About 197,000 people died from measles last year compared with 750,000 in 2000, according to a report released by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and the World Health Organization. The biggest improvements were in Africa and in eastern Mediterranean countries, among them Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan.

Measles is a contagious respiratory illness spread through coughing and sneezing. The CDC and WHO worked with poor countries to increase use of a disease-stopping vaccine that has been available since 1963. India, which wasn’t a part of the collaboration, now accounts for more than two-thirds of worldwide measles deaths.

The drop in measles deaths is “remarkable,” said Julie Gerberding, director of the Atlanta-based CDC, in a telephone press conference today. “Unfortunately, it’s not enough for the 554 children who die every day from this preventable disease. Many children are still at risk.”

The measles vaccine should be given to all children before their first birthday, with a second dose from 18 to 24 months, according to the American Red Cross, which is part of the measles initiative. The collaboration of governments, companies and aid organizations helps poor countries buy and distribute shots.

Vaccination Campaigns

In regions with poor vaccination coverage, the initiative helps provide shots to all children ages 9 months to 15 years regardless of vaccination history. For some children it will be a second shot, for others their first. A single shot is effective at preventing measles for the majority of children.

India is the only country in the world that hasn’t adopted a two-dose treatment or the coordinated vaccination campaigns, though it’s working with organizations to begin such coverage, said Edward Hoekstra, coordinator of the measles program at the United Nations Children’s Fund.

“They are in the final stages of planning, and we’re confident they will be on track in the next two to three years,” Hoekstra said on the call with reporters. “Four states account for 84 percent of measles in India. Those states are meeting in December.”

Measles symptoms include rash, high fever, cough, runny nose and reddened, watery eyes. Some people also develop an ear infection, diarrhea, lung infection or brain inflammation.

Low vaccination rates led to recent outbreaks in San Diego, Arizona and Wisconsin, which spread among people who hadn’t received measles vaccine. The U.S. goal is to increase immunization rates by 2010 to 95 percent, the level needed to stop outbreaks through so-called “herd immunity,” where even unvaccinated people are protected.

To contact the reporter on this story: Tom Randall in New York at trandall6@bloomberg.net.

Last Updated: December 4, 2008 13:02 EST