JUBA - (Xinhua) -- South Sudan on Sunday declared a measles outbreak after a continuous rise in the number of confirmed cases during the past 38 epidemic weeks.

John Romono, director general of preventive health services at the Department of Health, said 31 deaths and 2,471 measles cases had been reported in 22 districts across the country.

"Based on the number of laboratory-confirmed measles cases across the country, the National Ministry of Health hereby declares an outbreak of measles in South Sudan," Romono told reporters in Juba, the capital of South Sudan.

He said South Sudan has experienced recurrent measles outbreaks since 2021, primarily due to intermittent routine immunization services and inadequate implementation of supplementary immunization activities.

"The last national measles immunization campaign was conducted in 2020, with less than 85 percent coverage, which is below the recommended 95 percent immunization rate," he said.