NewsDesk @bactiman63

According to the World Health Organization (WHO), the measles outbreak that started on 13 December 2021 in Liberia, continues with an increasing trend.

Image/Robert Herriman

A total of 5,923 suspected cases have been reported, including 5, 528 confirmed cases (93.3%) as of 20 July 2022.

A total of 71 deaths were recorded, yielding a case fatality rate of 1.2% among all suspected cases.

As of 20 July 2022, the outbreak remains active in all the 15 counties in Liberia.

Of the 5,528 confirmed cases, a total of 2, 474 (44.8%) were known to be vaccinated against measles. However, 2,439 (44.1%) had not been vaccinated, 531 (9.6%) had unknown vaccination status, and 85 (1.5%) cases were under 9 months of age and therefore vaccination was not yet required.

The second phase of the nationwide measles vaccination campaigns in all 15 counties is being conducted.

The measles outbreak in Liberia has been escalating since March 2022. Since then, weekly reported cases have been far higher than in the previous four years, making the ongoing outbreak to be the most severe measles outbreak of the past five years.