Measles outbreak in Utrecht

Utrecht health services urge parents to vaccinate children after 16 cases of measles are reported since August.

AMSTERDAM -- The local health service says it recorded 16 cases of measles in Utrecht since August, in children of families that oppose vaccination for religious reasons.

The outbreak caused the authourities to advise parents to vaccinate their children as soon as possible.

Measles is a very infectious disease that can cause deafness and, in extreme cases, death. Five percent of all children in the Netherlands are not vaccinated against the disease.