Kindu, 14 March 2011 - More than 90 cases of measles were recently diagnosed in three health centers in northern Maniema province. Three people are reported to have died from the epidemic.

According to the Provincial Health Minister, the territories so far affected are Kabambare, Kasongo and Kibombo.

Medical personnel from different organizations have been meeting to try and find ways to contain the disease. It has already reached alarming proportions, according to Marie Claire Diwampovesa Nganzi, a medical doctor specializing in epidemiology and Head of the World Health Organisation (WHO) sub-office in Maniema. This, she said, can now be described as a measles epidemic on a wide scale, and requiring an immediate response from all relevant partners in the province.

The German Technical Cooperation (GTZ), through its support project for the reinforcement of the health system -- known by the acronym PARSS --, has already started providing care to affected populations, while a team of the French NGO, Médecins sans Frontières, is busy assessing the exact extent of the epidemic.

A joint team from the UN Stabilization Mission in the DR Congo (MONUSCO) regional office and UN agencies is preparing to visit the affected area to help contain the epidemic.

Matthieu Ilunga/ MONUSCO