South Sudan : 15 children have in a botched Measles vaccination program

A Sudanese nurse prepares an inoculation against measles
Photo credit: Ashraf Shazly

The Associated press is reporting that 15 children have died in a botched measles immunization campaign that saw people as young as 12 administering the vaccine,the South Sudan government announced on Friday.

The United Nations said the children died of  severe sepsis/toxicity due to the contaminated vaccines,the deaths have been blamed on human error.


One syringe was used for all the children during the four day period and the not refrigerated through out the whole time.In 2016 South Sudan had 2,294 measles cases in which 28 people died according to UN data.In 2017 665 have been infected with one fatality recorded.