DRC: Cholera, measles kill hundreds

Outbreaks of measles and cholera in parts of the Democratic Republic of Congo have killed hundreds of people, with thousands more infected, says an official of the UN World Health Organisation (WHO). 'Since September 2010, 115,484 measles cases and 1,145 related deaths have been reported in South Kivu, Katanga, Maniema, Kasaï Occidental, Equateur, Bas Congo and Kasaï Oriental provinces,' Tarik Jasarevic, a WHO media and advocacy officer, told IRIN. According to Jasarevic, a lack of government funding halted follow-up mass immunisation activities in the regions, leading to the measles outbreak.