At least 22 people died in Southern Sudan after an outbreak of measles, said Rueben Madit, a Health Ministry official.
The worst-affected area is in Maiwut County in the northeastern Upper Nile state, Madit said in a telephone interview today from Malakal, the state capital. The deaths occurred in the last four days and those infected have been admitted to hospital.
``We are doing all we can to eradicate the disease but we are poorly equipped,N'' Madit said.
Health authorities are sending a medical team to the area to carry out vaccinations in an effort to stop the disease spreading, Peter Oganjok, director of Health and Immunization in Upper Nile, said in a phone interview. An immunization campaign that was supposed to have been carried out last year didn't take place because of heavy rains, he said.