More than 400 people have died and 30,000 have been sickened since the beginning of the year in an ongoing outbreak of measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo. The death toll since August has been more than 100, according to the United Nations.
The outbreak is in the southeast section of the country, an area with many copper mines that was once the province of Katanga before the province was broken up into smaller areas. It is the worst outbreak in Congo since 2010, when 1,085 people died and about 77,000 were infected.
The United Nations has committed $2.4 million to fight this measles outbreak, but humanitarian groups say that it is not enough. The Katanga area has poor roads and poor health care services, which are hindering vaccination drives. It costs about $1 to vaccinate someone against measles.
Measles is a highly contagious virus that can lead to deadly complications such as severe diarrhea, dehydration, respiratory infection and encephalitis. The death rate from measles can be as high as 20% in underdeveloped countries such as Congo, according to the medical charity Doctors Without Borders. Deaths are more likely in young children, the elderly, and people with impaired immune systems. However, measles can also cause lasting complications, including vision problems and neurological complications from encephalitis.
The World Health Organization warned last year that progress toward wiping out measles has stalled worldwide due to poor vaccine coverage. Five out of six of the WHO regions have goals to eradicate measles. Measles has been officially eradicated in the Americas region, but an outbreak earlier this year in the United States was started by a tourist visiting Disneyland in California
The Democratic Republic of Congo is located in Central Africa and was once known as Zaire. Mining is one of the main industries of the country, which is rich in copper, cobalt, and diamonds.
