Five more suspected measles deaths take toll to 938

Five more children died with measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours to 8am on Monday, bringing the country’s combined tally of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 938 this year.

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

With the latest deaths, the number of suspected measles-related deaths has risen to 839, while confirmed deaths from measles remain at 99, according to the DGHS.

A total of 1,149 new suspected measles cases were reported during the 24-hour period, taking the cumulative number of suspected cases nationwide to 150,652.

Meanwhile, 83 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases were recorded, bringing the total number of confirmed infections to 18,487.

Since March 15 this year, a total of 131,664 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalised across the country. Of them, 126,921 have recovered, according to DGHS data.