Healthcare worker vaccinates a child against measles. | File/Courtesy.

The measles outbreak in South Sudan has killed 46 people out of nearly 400 confirmed cases, according to the World Health Organization.

The Ministry of Health first declared the measles outbreak in February last year, after reporting cases in Torit of Eastern Equatoria State and Maban in Upper Nile State.

The second outbreak was then declared in December 2022, following a steady increase in the number of cases across the country.

The health authorities have so far recorded 4,339 suspected cases including 388 confirmed cases and 46 deaths across the country.

Juba County in Central Equatoria State recorded the highest number of deaths at 18, Cueibet County of Lakes State recorded eight deaths while other counties reported less than five deaths in total.

“The current outbreak may have serious public health impacts due to the low national level of measles immunization coverage which is below the expected 95% coverage to interrupt the ongoing transmission,” said the World Health Organization in a statement on Friday.

WHO further warns that the outbreak could drag on to the new year, due to a number of risk factors including the situation of armed conflict, food insecurity and the situation at internally displacement camps.

Between March and November 2022, a total of 770,581 children were vaccinated during reactive vaccination campaigns.

A nationwide vaccination campaign against measles is planned to begin in March 2023.

According to WHO, measles is a highly contagious disease caused by the measles virus and occurs as a seasonal disease in tropical zones during the dry season.

It is transmitted instantly through respiratory droplets when an infected person sneezes or coughs, but the nature of transmission to vaccinated persons has not been demonstrated.

There is no specific antiviral treatment for measles and most people recover within 2-3 weeks.

But measles can cause serious complications including blindness, severe diarrhea, ear infection, and pneumonia among malnourished children and people with compromised immunity as well as pregnant women.