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SUDAN: Meningitis outbreak threatening lives

[Benin] Young boys, Togolese refugees living on the camps in Come, Benin in June 2005. These boys fled Togo on their own or were seperated from their families en route. Parfait Kouassi
Young Togolese refugees in a camp in Benin
    AGAME
    A meningitis outbreak is threatening several parts of Sudan, with 7,482 cases and 611 deaths so far reported by UNICEF. According to Operation Lifeline Sudan (OLS), the worst hit areas are South, North and West Darfur, Sennar and Kordofan. A World Food Programme report noted that in the White Nile area, 31 people - most of them children - died, while 210 others were admitted at Kosti hospital. Health agencies are carrying out vaccination campaigns in the affected areas. Medecins Sans Frontieres-Belgium has concentrated its campaign in Bahr al-Ghazal, where cases in Wau have reached 15 per 100,000 inhabitants. Cases have also been reported around Ajiep. OLS also reported severe diarrhoea outbreaks in the Malakal area, with a total of 2,882 cases and 219 deaths as of 8 April.

    This article was produced by IRIN News while it was part of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs. Please send queries on copyright or liability to the UN. For more information: https://shop.un.org/rights-permissions

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