Disease killing children in Central Darfur camp

Five children died on Saturday in the Deleig camp for the displaced, Central Darfur, of the “mysterious disease” that appeared in the region more than a month ago. The head of the Deleig camp in Wadi Salih locality reported to Radio Dabanga that there are currently 73 infected children in the camp. “They are in critical condition. On Saturday Mawadda Ahmed Adam (1 month), Abdallah Eisa Eisa (15 months), Najla Mohamed Doka (5), and two other young children died.” He added that a large number of donkeys are infected too, and expressed his discontent at the lack of action by the authorities and humanitarian organisations to combat and contain the disease. Dr Farah Musa Adam, the medical director of the Deleig Rural Hospital, however, strongly denied to Radio Dabanga the occurrence of any death at the hospital related to whooping cough. “The first case of whooping cough emerged in February. We are not aware of any deaths outside the hospital too. The seven cases transferred to the Deleig hospital were suffering from other diseases, pneumonia, diarrhoea, and intestinal infections.” Adam noted that the result of the laboratory tests has not yet been received from Khartoum, stressing that though whooping cough is an epidemic disease, it is not a serious one. File photo: A doctor examines a toddler having meningitis in Darfur (Albert González Farran/Unamid) Related: Central Darfur Minister denies deaths from mysterious disease (28 February 2014)‘Mysterious disease’ in Central Darfur kills 23 children (23 February 2014)15 children die of ‘mysterious disease’ in Central Darfur (16 February 2014)