--- --- # Congo Measles Outbreak Infects at Least 20,000 ## Video: Ebola Fighters in West Africa - TIME's Person of the Year 2014 [Watch (HLS stream): Ebola Fighters in West Africa - TIME's Person of the Year 2014](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/laroqNbt.m3u8) (10:47)  _Published 2014-12-10. Hundreds of doctors, nurses and health workers work every day to treat and contain the outbreak in the hot zone_  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 12, 2015 7:04 PM UTC  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Aug 12, 2015 7:04 PM UTC 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](http://uk.reuters.com/article/2015/08/12/uk-congodemocratic-health-idUKKCN0QH1N120150812?utm%5Fsource=twitter) 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. Congo Measles Outbreak: United Nations Says 300 Have Died ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3994788/congo-measles-outbreak/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3994788/congo-measles-outbreak/"},"headline":"Congo Measles Outbreak Infects at Least 20,000","datePublished":"2015-08-12T19:04:24.000Z","dateModified":"2026-08-04T08:05:00.451Z","description":"It's the worst measles outbreak in the region since 2010-2011","url":"https://time.com/3994788/congo-measles-outbreak/","keywords":["Infectious Disease"],"thumbnailUrl":"","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Health","image":[],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/health/","name":"Health"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/infectious-disease/","name":"Infectious Disease"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3994788/congo-measles-outbreak/","name":"Congo Measles Outbreak Infects at Least 20,000"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Ebola Fighters in West Africa - TIME's Person of the Year 2014","description":"Hundreds of doctors, nurses and health workers work every day to treat and contain the outbreak in the hot zone","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/laroqNbt/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2014-12-10T11:46:00.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/laroqNbt.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3994788/congo-measles-outbreak/","duration":"PT10M47S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3994788/congo-measles-outbreak/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```