Measles Epidemic Kills Four in North Korea

The International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent Societies says a measles epidemic in North Korea has killed at least four people and sickened three-thousand others. The aid group says local health facilities are treating about one-thousand patients and a mass vaccination campaign is under way. It says North Korea has requested five-thousand doses of vaccine from international aid agencies.

Measles has spread to 30 North Korea counties since November, but local authorities did not confirm the outbreak until last week with the help of World Health Organization testing kits. The federation says the diagnosis was delayed because measles was thought to have been eradicated from the country in 1992 and local health officials initially misidentified the disease as rubella.

国际红十字会与红新月会联合会说， 北韩出现的麻疹疫情已经导致至少4人死亡，3千人患病。该组织说，当地的卫生机构正在为大约1千名病患进行治疗，同时在大规模接种防疫疫苗。该组织表示，北韩向国际救援机构要求获得5千剂疫苗。

自去年11月以来，麻疹扩散到了北韩的30个县，但是地方政府直到上个星期在世界卫生组织协助下进行测试后才证实了疫情。国际红十字会与红新月会联合会说，北韩以为这种疾病从1992年就已经根除，从而导致诊断被延迟。当地的卫生人员起初把麻疹误认为是“风疹”。