The measles outbreak in the country has claimed five more children's lives over the 24 hours leading up to 8 am on Thursday, pushing the combined toll of confirmed and suspected fatalities to 955 this year.

According to the Directorate General of Health Services (DGHS), all five recent deaths have been classified as suspected measles cases.

This brings the cumulative count of suspected measles deaths to 856, while the death toll for laboratory-confirmed measles remains steady at 99.

Infection rates also saw a sharp increase during the same 24-hour window, with 956 new suspected cases reported, lifting the nationwide total of suspected infections to 153,692.

Additionally, 75 new laboratory-confirmed cases were logged, bringing the overall confirmed count to 18,726.

Despite the heavy influx of patients, recovery figures continue to progress. DGHS records show that since March 15 of this year, a total of 134,437 patients with suspected measles symptoms have been admitted to hospitals nationwide with 129,489 of them having successfully recovered.