Measles outbreak kills 34

2006-01-18 08:12

Addis Ababa - At least 34 people have died of measles in the last five months in southeastern and eastern Ethiopia and there are fears the outbreaks could spread as a severe drought currently ravaging the regions continues to bite, the UN children's agency said on Tuesday.

The agency warned that more measles cases were likely in the country's remote southeast Somali and east Afar regions and that the disease could spread further as people in those drought-hit areas migrate to other places seeking food and water.

"There are growing concerns over the numbers of new measles cases in Somali and Afar regions," Unicef said, blaming the initial outbreaks on low immunisation levels.

It said that more than 370 cases of measles, 20 of which resulted in death, were reported from July to December 2005 in Afar, while 195 cases, 14 of them fatal, were reported in the Somali region between July and October.

Unicef said nearly 13 million Ethiopian children will be inoculated countrywide this year in a bid to curtail such outbreaks.

Measles is a highly contagious disease which continues to kill about one million children worldwide every year, particularly in developing countries.

Half the deaths are in sub-Saharan Africa, according to the World Health Organisation.

The airborne viral disease, associated with high fever, rashes and vomiting, is the worst killer among illnesses that can be prevented by vaccination.

- AFP