Measles outbreak: Death toll 955 as five children die in 24 hours

Five more children died with measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Thursday, bringing the country’s combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 955 this year.

The Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS) has classified all five latest fatalities as suspected measles deaths.

With these, the total number of suspected measles deaths has reached 856, while confirmed deaths from measles have remained the same at 99, it said.

A total of 956 new suspected measles cases were reported during the 24-hour period, bringing the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to153,692.

Meanwhile, 75 new confirmed measles cases were recorded, bringing the total number of laboratory-confirmed infections to 18,726.

Since March 15 this year, a total of 134,437 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalized across the country, of whom 129,489 have recovered, according to DGHS data.