Sleeping sickness outbreak

Originally published July 22, 1997

South Sudan faces a sleeping sickness outbreak rated one of the worst in the world this century, according to the results of a joint probe released on July 19.

A study by aid agency Care and the US-based Center for Disease Control found "catastrophic " sleeping sickness rates fueled by war in southern Sudan and a civil war in what is now the Democratic Republic of the Congo.

"If confirmed it would represent among the highest levels in this century," said CDC's Anne Moore in a statement.