Measles outbreak in Kibondo

A measles outbreak in the Kibondo district of western Tanzania, which began in early February, has now spread to the Nduta refugee camp, UNICEF said on Tuesday. In a statement, it said 76 cases had been confirmed in local Tanzanian villages and five cases were recorded in the Nduta camp. "At this time, we think the situation in under control," UNICEF official Gerry Dyer said. "However, we will continue to work with the district medical officer and his team to ensure that the outbreak is contained." UNICEF's initial assessment indicates that the main cause of the outbreak was a failure in the vaccine cold chain due to a lack of kerosene. In response to the outbreak, UNICEF supported a vaccination campaign in the refugee camp, as well as in the most-affected village of Kichananga, and immunisation supplies were transferred from the refugee programme for use in local villages. The outbreak had so far not affected any refugee children under 10 years of age, as they had been all been immunised against measles, the statement added.