The Dutch Ministry of Public Health is advising fans planning to travel to Euro 2012 in Poland and Ukraine to be vaccinated against measles because of an epidemic that has hit the western region ofUkraine near the Polish border.
More than 6,000 cases of measles have been reported in Ukraine this year, and the epidemic is expected to accelerate before June, according to theStockholm-based European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control.
“Most Dutch people are well protected against measles,” the ministry’s National Institute for PublicHealth and Environment said. “The advice therefore applies to people who haven’t been vaccinated against measles and who haven’t had the disease in the past.”
Travelers to Ukraine have also been advised to vaccinate against hepatitis A and diphtheria, tetanus and polio and avoid contact with cats and dogs in Poland, where rabies circulates.