More than 900 dead in Madagascar measles epidemic

In a report released last week, the WHO wrote that the outbreak was “unprecedented” and “occurred in a context of poor performance of routine vaccination.”

That report listed 300 deaths and 53,000 infections. The dramatic increase in such a short time is due to a more complete collection of data in Madagascar, a spokesman said on Friday.

There were 229,000 reported measles cases worldwide in 2018 – double the number of the previous year, according to preliminary WHO figures. WHO experts say the actual number of cases is likely to be many times higher.

The former French colony of Madagascar has a population of about 25 million and is one of the 30 poorest nations in the world, according to the United Nations.

DPA

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