Measles epidemic declared in Etoumbi, Cuvette-Ouest Department

A measles epidemic has been declared in Etoumbi, 700 km north of Brazzaville, capital of Republic of Congo, with 32 cases registered so far, Bernard Mantele, the office director of the Congolese Ministry of Health, told IRIN on Thursday. "The epidemic was confirmed by local health authorities. The Ministry of Health would have sent an emergency medical team earlier, but we did not have the necessary resources," Mantele said. "Nevertheless, a team of doctors left Brazzaville on Wednesday and are on the ground working to stop the epidemic." Etoumbi is in the northwestern department of Cuvette-Ouest, which is isolated due to poor road access and telecommunications networks. Congolese health authorities have attributed the cyclical outbreaks of measles to insufficient coverage during vaccination campaigns. Sangha Department, to the northeast of Cuvette-Ouest, has also been battling a measles epidemic since February. "Since February, I have been unable to visit the affected areas owing to a lack of means," Odette Momabayaka, director of humanitarian action for Sangha Department, told IRIN on Friday. "We have to wait for the return of a doctor who found his own way there in order to have the latest news." By the end of February, at least eight deaths from measles had been recorded in a zone between the villages of Sembe and Souanke, 185 km and 245 km, respectively, west of Ouesso, capital of Sangha Department.