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The United Nations announced Wednesday that a measles outbreak in the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) has killed at least a hundred children since the beginning of the year, compounding a medical and security crisis that already included Ebola, cholera and inter-factional violence. this makes it difficult for doctors to treat deadly diseases.
The United Nations peacekeeping mission in the DRC documented 7,175 cases of measles in January, including 137 deaths. More than 80% of the deaths were children under five.
The measles victims were added to 1,936 cholera cases recorded since the beginning of 2019.
The Ebola outbreak has claims 513 lives since August 2018. Children accounted for 97 of the Ebola victims, 65 of them less than five years old. Haemorrhagic fever is prevalent in the DRC, with most cases attributable to Ebola exposure.
The number of new cases in January doubled from 20 per week to 40, an increase assigned Heather Kerr, director of Save the Children in the DRC, questions public mistrust of doctors because of "false information" and deteriorating security conditions.
"It is important to convince communities that the Ebola virus is an urgent and real concern," Kerr said Sunday. "People disrupted funerals because they did not believe that the deceased had succumbed to the virus. Humanitarian workers were threatened because it was believed that they were spreading the Ebola virus. "
"We need to redouble our efforts to reach out to youth and community leaders who are making their voices heard to build trust and help us turn the tide. Treating sick people is essential, but it is equally important to prevent Ebola from spreading further, "she urged.
Kerr pointed out that the DRC was suffering from an "extreme hunger crisis", in addition to violence and illness, with 4.6 million children "under acute malnutrition". Malnutrition is a major problem. major factor in the spread of measles and its mortality rate in children.
"For many people, the main concerns are the safety and the assurance that they have enough to eat. But Ebola must also be a priority, "she said.
The UK cited sanitation problems, limited medical care, lack of clean water and rebel armed factions terrorizing the population as factors in the spread of the three epidemics.
The Ebola epidemic in Congo is the second worst in history, but it is much smaller than the worst, the 2014 West Africa epidemic, which claimed the lives of 11,000 people. The DRC epidemic has been contents with the help of much more powerful vaccines and more effective containment strategies developed during the West African horror, but these drugs and techniques require the cooperation of the public.
Doctors fear that the region affected by the outbreak in the DRC is shivering on the brink of a collapse of society in which Congolese flee the outbreak and conflict zones to settle in the surrounding areas, where they would be much more difficult to monitor and could infect others.
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