ROME: Italy's cabinet on Friday approved a law obliging parents to vaccinate their children against infectious diseases as politicians spar over a spike in measles cases. Vaccines against measles, mumps, rubella, chicken pox and meningitis, which were previously only recommended, will now become mandatory, Prime Minister Paolo Gentiloni said. The United States warned visitors to Italy about exposure to the potentially fatal disease. 5-Star members, who run Rome's city hall, abstained on Thursday from a vote on obliging schoolchildren in the capital to be vaccinated, stoking fresh controversy over their stance. Paola Ferrara, 5-Star's leader in city hall, said the party had abstained because of the pending vote in parliament, and considered vaccinations "essential".

Source: Bangkok Post May 19, 2017 13:30 UTC