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Measles outbreak makes life tougher for North Koreans

More than 1,000 people remain hospitalized with measles following an outbreak last November in North Korea, the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies said yesterday.

The federation is set to launch an appeal for some US$450,000 in donations to fund a vaccination campaign starting this month to help cope with the disease, which North Korean authorities have said has killed four people since last fall.

In a statement on Wednesday, the group said that as of Tuesday 1,013 measles patients have been admitted for treatment.

Measles has sickened some 3,000 people since the outbreak began in November, although the North did not inform international health officials of the disease until last month.

"A measles outbreak in a country like [North Korea], where the overall health and nutritional status of the population has deteriorated in the recent past due to economic constraints and natural disasters coupled with the compromised health infrastructure, has serious consequences," the group said.

International aid groups are hoping to start an immunization campaign by March 15 for 6 million infants and children, before expanding the vaccinations in the following month for 10.2 million people up to age 45.

Measles is a leading cause of death among young children, despite the availability of a safe and effective vaccine for 40 years.
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