Measles in the Democratic Republic of the Congo needs urgent attention

TherapeuTic advances in infectious diseaseMeasles, a highly contagious viral infection, remains a persistent threat to global public health, particularly in regions with inadequate healthcare infrastructure and limited access to vaccination programs. 1In recent years, measles outbreaks have become an emerging problem in the world, especially in Sub-Saharan Africa including the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) with a substantial increase in the number of reported cases of measles, a highly contagious caused by measles virus, claims over 100,000 lives yearly global. 2 Measles is transmitted through respiratory droplets.It begins with fever, cough, runny nose, and red eyes, followed by a distinctive rash.Some of the public health challenges discovered include pneumonia, encephalitis, blindness, and death. 3Furthermore, ongoing conflicts and the displacement of populations have further exacerbated the situation of measles by disrupting healthcare services and hindering access to immunization programs.In 2019, over 182 countries in the world reported 300,000 cases, more than doubling from the previous year. 4A study revealed that African countries such as Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland and Zimbabwe, suffered large outbreaks of measles between 2009 and 2010. 5A recent report in 2023 found 1832 confirmed cases of measles between March to June where under-14 children accounted for most cases (86%), with the highest rates in the 1-4 and 5-9 age groups. 3An Ethiopian study in 2023 reported that seasonal patterns of measles outbreaks similarly occurred in Ethiopia toward the end of 2022. 6The number of reported cases of measles in Ethiopia was estimated to be greater than 1.5 million cases across all ages and 70, 000 deaths would occur yearly. 6The situation of measles in the DRC between 2018 and 2020 highlights the persistent challenges in controlling and preventing measles outbreaks, despite ongoing vaccination efforts.The outbreak from 2018 to