6 More Children Die; Measles Toll Reaches 860

Six more children died with measles-like symptoms in the 24 hours until 8:00am on Thursday, raising the country's combined total of confirmed and suspected measles-related deaths to 860 this year, according to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS).

All six of the latest fatalities were classified as suspected measles deaths.

With the latest update, the number of suspected measles deaths has increased to 764, while laboratory-confirmed measles deaths remain unchanged at 96.

During the reporting period, 733 new suspected measles cases were recorded, bringing the nationwide total to 133,638.

The DGHS also reported 85 new laboratory-confirmed measles cases, raising the cumulative number of confirmed infections to 16,740.

Since March 15, a total of 115,879 patients with suspected measles have been hospitalised across the country. Of them, 111,587 have recovered, according to DGHS data.