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The Democratic Republic of Congo has been struggling with not only COVID-19 but also with measles. Measles cases started to increase in October. Epidemiologists have been trying to help cure cases of the measles ever since 2018 before COVID hit. The Democratic Republic of Congo has had the highest outbreak of measles since the vaccine was created. As of now, the Democratic Republic of Congo is battling two deadly viruses with patients catching COVID and also the measles.
Measles virus persists to increase around the world. The cases have increased by 58 percent since 2016. There are two different reasons why the virus is beginning to spike up. Insubstantial countries, many parents are not willing to vaccinate their kids. However, in impoverished countries, their health systems do not have enough funds to be able to give out the vaccine to everyone who needs it. Also, in poorer countries, they battle with malnutrition and vitamins. If the patients recover they usually leave with undying disabilities. For example, a patient can leave with having brain damage, hearing loss, or even blindness.
In order to prevent measles, people need two doses of the vaccine to be safe. Nonetheless, in poor countries, some children are able to get one dose of the vaccine which doesn’t help a lot but it helps enough. The Democratic Republic of Congo has a lot of other hardships to face also. Not only are they dealing with measles and coronavirus, but they also deal with a very high death rate.
Written by Jayla Fenderson
Edited by Sheena Robertson
Sources:
Nature: Why measles deaths are surging — and coronavirus could make it worse
Top and Featured Image Courtesy of Teseum’s Flickr Page – Creative Commons License