As the world grapples with the spread of novel coronavirus , in remote western DR Congo , officials are fighting a deadly outbreak of measles.

More than 6 , 000 people have died from measles in the Democratic Republic of Congo in a year , the world ’ s worst outbreak and triple the toll of the country’ s Ebola epidemic . It is also nearly double the 3 , 404 people who have died from the coronavirus so far .

Last year , more than 18 million children under the age of five were vaccinated for measles across DR Congo and around 310 , 000 suspected cases were reported .

The DRC recorded more than 335 , 413 suspected cases and 6 , 362 deaths from January 1 , 2019 to February 20 , 2020 , according to WHO statistics .

#AFP