Almost 5,000 cases of measles have been reported in Serbia proper and the Serb-majority municipalities in Kosovo since October 2017, the Serbian Institute of Public Health (IJZS) said.

According to data released by IJZS, a total of 4,829 cases of measles were reported, and 15 people have died of related complications in the past seven months.

About 95 percent of the people who have contracted measles were not vaccinated, or were only partly vaccinated against the disease, and almost a third (32 percent) have been hospitalised.

Two patients have developed inflammation of the brain, and 529 have contracted pneumonia. Most of the cases were reported in the cities of Belgrade (1,584) and Nis (1,105).

An anti-vaccination campaign has been ongoing in Serbia for several years, after claims that the vaccine can result in negative effects on children have gained popularity.

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