2019 measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo

In 2019, a measles epidemic broke out in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The epidemic started in early 2019 in the southeast corner of the DRC and then spread to all provinces.[1][3] By June 2019 the epidemic was reported to have exceeded the death toll of the concurrent Ebola epidemic.[4] By the end of November, it had claimed nearly 5,000 fatalities,[1] while it was estimated that close to 250,000 people had been infected.[1] This has primarily affected children under the age of five,[3] representing 74% of infections and nearly 90% of deaths.[5]

2019 measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of the Congo
DiseaseMeasles
DatesEarly 2019 –
present[1]
Deaths>5,000[2].By November 2019, close to 250,000 estimated cases.[1]

In response, a vaccination program had been set up by the Ministry of Public Health with the aim to vaccinate more than 20 million children under the age of five.[3][4] The effort is supported by the Measles & Rubella Initiative, the World Health Organisation, UNICEF, and GAVI, a vaccine alliance.[3][5] Also, Médecins Sans Frontières started conducting vaccination campaigns. Vaccination programs have been hampered by access to health resources, lack of resources, security issues, and mistrust.[6][3]

The measles outbreak in the DRC has been the largest and most fatal measles outbreak across the world in 2019.[3]

See also
  • List of epidemics

References
  1. "DR Congo measles: Nearly 5,000 dead in major outbreak". BBC. 2019-11-21. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  2. "Measles claims more than twice as many lives than Ebola in DR Congo". UN News. November 27, 2019.
  3. Catesby Holmes (2019-10-19). "Outbreaks of measles: compounding challenges in the DRC". The Conversation. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  4. "Congo declares measles epidemic after it kills more than Ebola". Reuters. 2019-06-20. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  5. "As measles deaths in the Democratic Republic of the Congo top 4,000, UNICEF rushes medical kits to health centers and vaccinates thousands more children". UNICEF. 2019-10-09. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
  6. "DRC struggles to contain measles outbreak". AlJazeera. 2019-10-30. Retrieved 2019-11-22.
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