Measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo from 2019

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The measles epidemic in the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC) began in the south-east of the country at the beginning of 2019 and spread throughout the country during the year. By the middle of the year the epidemic had already caused more deaths than Congo's simultaneous Ebola epidemic . Over 300,000 people were infected and more than 6,000 people died during the year. The epidemic mainly hit children, who accounted for around 90% of the deaths.

The DRK Ministry of Health has started a vaccination campaign. By the end of 2019, around 18 million children had been vaccinated. The program is supported by the Measles & Rubella Initiative , the World Health Organization , UNICEF , and GAVI . Difficulties in implementation arise from geographical inadequacies, inadequate medical infrastructure, lack of money, security problems, and mistrust.

In April 2020, it was reported that due to COVID-19, the measles vaccination campaign was stopped.

See also

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ More deadly than Ebola . World. September 29, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  2. ↑ More than 6,000 people died of measles in the Congo . Mirror. January 9, 2020. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  3. ^ Johannes Dieterich: Deadly measles epidemic in the Congo . The standard. December 21, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  4. ↑ WHO sounds the alarm: More than 6,000 dead from measles in the Congo . Medical journal. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  5. ↑ a b Catesby Holmes: Outbreaks of measles: compounding challenges in the DRC . The conversation. October 19, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  6. ^ Congo: 4,500 children have died of measles since the beginning of the year . Vatican News. November 28, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  7. ^ DRC struggles to contain measles outbreak . Al Jazeera . October 30, 2019. Accessed January 31, 2020.
  8. ↑ 117 million children are at risk of infection with measles . The mirror . Retrieved April 14, 2020.