The Lesser-Known Measles Outbreak That's Killed Nearly 1,000 People In Months

https://www.iflscience.com/health-and-medicine/the-lesserknown-measles-outbreak-thats-killed-nearly-1000-people-in-months/

A lot of attention has been directed at the recent measles outbreaks in North America and western Europe. Meanwhile, slightly away from the media spotlight, there’s a lesser-known outbreak of the virus that’s taken the lives of at least 922 people since October 2018.

The World Health Organization (WHO) told reporters on February 14 there were over 66,000 reported measles cases and at least 922 deaths in Madagascar between October 2018 to February 12, 2019.

The overwhelming majority of these cases and deaths were children, they added. It’s also worth noting that fewer than 10 percent of actual measles cases are reported globally, so the real figure is likely to be much higher.

Dr Katrina Kretsinger, head of WHO’s expanded immunization program, also cited significant outbreaks of the disease in Ukraine, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Chad, and Sierra Leone.

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