Matadi (DR Congo) (AFP)

On the verge of overcoming an Ebola epidemic, the Democratic Republic of the Congo is active against the "worst measles epidemic" in its history which affects its entire territory and which has marked time since the start of the year , noted an AFP journalist on Wednesday.

"The DRC has recorded the deadliest epidemic of measles in its history, with more than 335,413 suspected cases and 6,362 deaths from January 1, 2019 to February 20, 2020", according to the latest data from the World Health Organization (WHO) ).

"There is a decreasing trend in the number of reported measles cases," adds the WHO. Between January 1 and mid-February, "the DRC recorded a total of 20,475 suspected measles cases including 252 deaths (fatality: 1.2%)".

WHO has announced that it is mobilizing with its partners "4.2 million US dollars to strengthen the response to the measles epidemic in the DRC".

One of the objectives is to "accelerate the vaccination of at least 95% of children 6 months to 5 years and over, in order to contain the spread of the disease".

Nearly 1,300 cases of measles, for example, were recorded in the health area of ​​Seke Banza, in a remote area of ​​the province of central Kongo (far west), found an AFP journalist who is on the spot since the beginning of the week.

"There are about 100 patients who have had to be hospitalized," said Médéric Monier, from Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

"Our teams are preparing the vaccination that will be launched in the coming days to stem and stop the epidemic. This is the only way to treat and prevent these epidemics of measles," he added. .

The DRC celebrated rare good news on Tuesday, with the discharge on Tuesday of the last patient hospitalized in an Ebola Treatment Center (ETC) in Beni in eastern DRC.

No new confirmed case has been registered for 14 days and the epidemic will be officially over "as soon as we reach 42 days without any new registered case," said a WHO spokesperson in Kinshasa.

Declared on August 1, the tenth Ebola epidemic on Congolese soil has killed 2,264 people.

No case of coronavirus has been recorded in the DRC.

© 2020 AFP