Officials: Measles deaths drop by 60 percent

? Global measles deaths have dropped by 60 percent, health authorities announced in a report Friday, and one senior official called it a “historic victory” for public health.

Nearly 7.5 million children were saved from dying of measles between 1999 and 2005, thanks to increased immunization campaigns, the World Health Organization said. More than 360 million children aged 9 months to 15 years were vaccinated against measles during that period.

Measles is one of the most infectious diseases that exists. Though it is no longer a major problem in the West, in poor countries, the disease can kill as many as 30 percent of the children it infects, particularly in those with weakened immune systems.