CDC Reports 61,000 Measles Cases in Africa
Last update: April 9, 2026
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CDC says DRC leads in measles cases on continent...
Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC) says the Africa continent recorded 61,238 measles cases and 451 deaths across 19 countries in early 2026.
Prof. Yap Boum II, Deputy Incident Manager for Mpox at the Africa Centres for Disease Control and Prevention Incident Management Support Team, disclosed this during a regional press briefing.
Boum said in epidemiological weeks 1 to 13 of 2026, 61,238 cases and 451 deaths were recorded across Africa.
He said the figures represented a 0.7 per cent case fatality rate.
Borum said measles remained a serious health threat, particularly in Central Africa where transmission rates continued to remain high.
According to him, Africa recorded 84,918 cases and 1,511 deaths in 2023, 70,677 cases and 1,295 deaths in 2024, and 67,018 cases and 338 deaths in 2025.
He stated that although overall cases had declined over the years, outbreaks remained concentrated in high-risk countries, especially areas with weak healthcare systems and poor immunisation coverage.
Boum said the Democratic Republic of the Congo accounted for 70 per cent of cases and 93 per cent of measles deaths recorded during the reporting period.
He identified affected provinces as Equateur, Haut Lomami, Kasaï Oriental, Kinshasa, Nord Kivu, and Sud Kivu, citing poor healthcare access and displacement as contributing factors.
According to him, children remain the most affected, with 21 per cent of cases in infants under one year, 55 per cent among children aged one to four years.
