
Pennsylvania health authorities confirmed a fifth measles death on Wednesday, bringing the state’s toll in the worst outbreak in 35 years to five fatalities, including two infants too young for vaccination, an 18-year-old and a 40-year-old. The latest victim, an unvaccinated resident of Lancaster County, died amid a surge of over 3,650 lab-confirmed cases nationwide this year, with more than 900 in Pennsylvania alone, according to the state Health Department .
Lancaster County is home to a large Amish community, where vaccination rates are significantly lower than the general population. Measles, declared eliminated in the U.S. in the 2000s, has resurged as vaccination rates decline and public trust in health authorities wanes, the state noted.
In the Democratic Republic of Congo, a local politician was buried in Butembo on Wednesday after being beaten to death for defending the government’s Ebola response on the radio. Marie-Celestin Karondwa, a member of the ruling Union for Democracy and Social Progress, was attacked at his home on Sunday and died of his injuries, his granddaughter Sagesse Kavira told The Associated Press . The killing follows repeated attacks on health workers as the country battles its deadliest Ebola outbreak, with over 8,000 cases and nearly 4,000 deaths. The current outbreak involves the Bundibugyo strain, for which no vaccine or specific treatment exists, according to the World Health Organization.
Follow us for live European news
11 further sources not geolocated