Measles cases are surging across Europe for a second straight year and will soon exceed the already-high number recorded in 2023, the World Health Organization warned.

It called on countries to boost their vaccination efforts.

A total of 56,634 cases of measles and four deaths were registered during the first three months of the year in 45 of the 53 countries that make up the WHO European region, which includes Central Asia.

That is just 5,000 cases fewer than for the whole of 2023, when 61,070 cases and 13 deaths were reported in 41 countries.

It is also 60 times more than the 941 cases reported in 2022.

"Measles cases across Europe continue to surge, with the number of measles cases recorded for this year soon to exceed the total number of cases reported throughout 2023," the WHO said in a statement.

"I urge all countries to take immediate action, even where overall immunization coverage is high, to vaccinate the vulnerable, close the immunity gaps and thereby prevent the virus from taking hold in any community," WHO Europe director Hans Kluge said.