The administration of St Daniel Comboni Primary School in Marial Lou, Tonj North County, has suspended learning after suspected cases of measles increase.
Daniel Deng Wol, headteacher, told Mayardit FM they have been recording more than 6 to 7 cases of suspected measles in a day since the beginning of this week.
Deng, who attributed the figures to a nearby health facility, disclosed that, 27 children below 9 years have been infected and they fear of further spreads.
“You find that everyday, children report to school when they are sick or others start getting sick when they are in the class. We fear that many children would be infected if we keep the school operating,” he said.
“They develop body rushes, fever and many other strange symptoms. So we decided to close the school for one week.”
St Daniel Comboni Primary School currently has 910 children, according to the headmaster Daniel Deng. They were asked to return home this morning.
For his part, Dr. Barac Malith Atem, minister of Health in Warrap State, says the team of health surveillance officers will be sent to Tonj North to investigates the concern.
“The health officers with emergencies shall be sent to the area to take the sample. We are also appealing to the families whom children are sick to take them to the nearby hospitals,” he added.
Measles outbreak has been reported in other parts of the country, including Warrap, Unity, and Lakes states.
Measles kills approximately 350 people a day, mostly children, according to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC).