The emergency creation of a task force, which went to South Sudan to investigate a mysterious disease that has left at least 89 people dead in a matter of days, was undertaken by the World Health Organization.[/b]
The African country's health ministry gave details of a rapidly transmissible disease in the city of Fangak, with local scientists still unable to identify it. Recently, the area was hit by floods, with health officials collecting samples, in an effort to discover more clues.
According to reports from local officials, initial samples ruled out the presence of cholera.The WHO team arrived in Fangak by helicopter, as flooding made access by other means impractical.
"We decided to send a team to go and do a survey and risk assessment. They will be able to collect samples from patients, however the initial reports we received put the death toll at 89," a World Health official told the BBC.[/p]For his part, a local government spokesman said severe flooding in South Sudan had spurred the spread of diseases such as malaria and caused malnutrition among children due to food shortages.
Source: APE-MPA
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