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Outbreak of measles kills 38 in northwest Myanmar

Xinhua, August 7, 2016 Adjust font size:

The outbreak of measles, which has claimed 38 lives in Myanmar's northwestern Sagaing Region, could be controlled, a local official said on Sunday.

As of Friday, the outbreak of contagious disease has killed 38 people from 9 villages, U Kay Sai, chairman of the Naga Self-Administered zone, told Xinhua.

According the results of blood test, 3 out of 5 local people were found to carry the measles virus, and about 200 people were suffering from the disease.

"It reached a preventable and controllable situation," he added.

However, the epidemic could be brought under control as no new case was reported, according to U Law Yone, a representative of the Sagaing Region parliament.

The outbreak of the disease has started in the remote villages around Lahe and Nan Yun towns since early June and almost all the infected were children.

Medical teams from the Health Ministry were providing health care in affected areas with the assistance of military. Some 1,774 cases of measles have been recorded in Myanmar as of 2011, according to the UN Children's Fund UNICEF. Endit