Kenya: Measles outbreak prompts emergency vaccination drive

An increase in cases of measles has prompted Kenya's health ministry to embark on an emergency vaccination campaign to protect children against the disease, which has claimed the lives of 41 patients around the country over the past six months. About 1,600 cases of the disease have been reported during the same period, according to the director of medical services in the health ministry. The first phase of the vaccination campaign - scheduled to start on Saturday and last until 5 May - will target 560,000 children in 16 high-risk areas, including eight divisions in the capital, Nairobi, where 16 of the deaths have been reported.