A measles outbreak in a southeast province of the Democratic Republic of the Congo has killed more than 300 people and infected at least 20,000, according to a preliminary United Nations report.
The outbreak is still expanding, according to the draft report, and hundreds more in remote areas may have died without their deaths being recorded.
The news, reported by Reuters and confirmed by TIME, marks the worst measles outbreak in the region since a 2010-2011 outbreak killed more than 1,000 people. The report, drafted by the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, says that more than $2 million is needed to fight the disease in the region.
The outbreak, while devastating, isn’t entirely surprising given conditions in the Congo. The country ranks low on measures of access to healthcare and many are not vaccinated for diseases like measles.
- Succession Was a Race to the Bottom, And Everybody Won
- What Erdoğan’s Victory Means for Turkey—and the World
- Why You Can't Remember That Taylor Swift Concert All Too Well
- How Four Trans Teens Threw the Prom of Their Dreams
- Why Turkey’s Longtime Leader Is an Electoral Powerhouse
- The Ancient Roots of Psychotherapy
- Drought Crisis Spurs U.S.-Mexico Collaboration
- Florence Pugh Might Just Save the Movie Star From Extinction