A measles epidemic has broken out in the health district of Kambia in northern Sierra Leone, where three cases of the contagious disease have been confirmed, AFP has learned from an official source.
The cases were detected in the village of Bamoi Luma, the Sierra Leonean Ministry of Health and Hygiene said in a statement released Friday (October 29th).
Measles, much older than we thought
This ministry, which is already working with the WHO and other organizations, has deployed teams to
"conduct a thorough investigation of the epidemic and prepare the response,"
the statement added.
Sierra Leone, a former British colony rich in diamonds, is one of the poorest countries in the world and often faces epidemics.
The country is still recovering from a brutal civil war from 1991 to 2002 and the Ebola epidemic in West Africa from 2014 to 2016.