Measles death toll tops 1,300 as five more children die

Five more children died with measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours leading up to 8:00am on Friday, pushing the country’s combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles fatalities to 1,304 this year.

The Directorate General of Health Services classified the latest fatalities as suspected measles deaths, bringing the total number of suspected deaths to 1,199, while confirmed fatalities remained unchanged at 105.

During the same 24-hour period, 1,271 new suspected measles cases were reported nationwide, raising the cumulative count of suspected cases to 245,562. Meanwhile, 148 new confirmed infections brought the total number of laboratory-confirmed cases to 25,028.

According to DGHS data, a total of 219,247 suspected measles patients have been hospitalised across the country since March 15, of whom 210,401 have successfully recovered.