Measles in Equatoria region--south Sudan.

A retrospective analysis of 208 cases of measles admitted to Sabbah Children's Hospital, Juba is presented. Seventeen per cent of the children were less than 10 months of age. The overall case fatality rate was 23%. The death rate was lowest in the first 9 months of life and increased with age, as did the incidence of malnutrition. It is recommended that measles vaccination should commence at 6 months of age in the Juba area, and that intensive health education about the dangers and management of measles be instituted.

Traditional practice as a cause of infant morbidity and mortality in Juba area (Sudan).

In 56 (70%) of 80 infants with diarrhoea and vomiting admitted to Sabbah Children's Hospital emergency department, their canine milk teeth had been incriminated as being the cause of the disease and hence extracted. Ninety-nine (90%) of the 110 mothers interviewed admitted that the canine teeth of their infants were extracted following diarrhoea and vomiting. Seventy per cent of this group claimed that their infants improved after extraction. Canine milk teeth extraction is widely practised among the uneducated and those who had junior education and above. Recommendations to inhibit this bad practice are outlined and forwarded to the authorities concerned.