A measles outbreak in Katanga province in the Democratic of Congo has killed 315 people and infected at least 20,000, the United Nations reported on Wednesday.
The U.N Office for the Coordination pf Humanitarian Affairs said in draft report that hundreds more deaths are likely not to have been documented since the outbreak in 2010-11 due to difficulties accessing remote areas.
According to the report, seen by Reuters, more than $2.4 million will be needed to organize vaccination drives and treat those already infected in the southeastern province.
Some 1,085 people died and about 77,000 were infected in the 2010-11 epidemic, according to a study in the scientific journal BMC Infectious Diseases.
According to the MSF, Mortality rates from measles are low in developed countries but can rise to as high as 20 percent in poorer countries
Access to healthcare is low in Congo, which ranks 186 out 187 on the U.N. Human Development Index.
