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A mother and a child share a hug in Sri Lanka Ⓒ UNICEF
WHO announced in July that Sri Lanka has eliminated measles, interrupting transmission of the indigenous virus that causes the killer childhood disease. An independent verification committee reviewed in detail all data and ongoing efforts for measles elimination in the island nation and concluded that Sri Lanka has stopped transmission of indigenous measles virus. The country reported its last case of measles caused by an indigenous virus in May 2016. Sporadic cases, reported in the last three years have all been importations that were quickly detected, investigated and rapidly responded to. The full press release from the WHO can be found here.