South Sudan reports measles outbreak
South Sudan declared a measles outbreak on Sunday (December 11th) following a steady rise in the number of confirmed cases over the past 38 epidemiological weeks.
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| An African child is vaccinated against measles. |
| Photo: AFP/VNA/CVN |
John Rumunu, director general of the Department of Health’s preventive medicine department, said 31 deaths and 2,471 cases of measles had been reported in 22 counties across the country.
“Due to the number of laboratory confirmed measles cases across the country, the National Ministry of Health officially declares a measles outbreak in South Sudan“, Mr. Rumunu told reporters in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.
He pointed out that South Sudan has been experiencing repeated outbreaks of measles since 2021, mainly due to interruption of routine vaccinations and insufficient implementation of booster campaigns.
“The last national measles vaccination campaign was carried out in 2020, with vaccination coverage below 85%, which is below the recommended target of 95%“, he asserted.
Mr. Rumunu said that an epidemiological investigation would be immediately launched with a view to determining the extent of virus transmission, strengthening routine vaccination systems across the country, implementing measles vaccination campaigns and manage complications resulting from the disease.
Xinhua/VNA/CVN