KHARTOUM (Reuters) – Eleven people died and thousands were taken to hospital with breathing difficulties after a swarm of grasshoppers invaded a town in central Sudan, the government-owned Al-Anbaa newspaper reported.
The paper Saturday cited health authorities in Wad Medani, capital of the central al-Jezira state, as saying an epidemic of what they considered to be asthma had afflicted 1,685 people since October 22, all of whom had since been cured.
The authorities also said 11 people had died from the breathing difficulties.
“The appearance of the epidemic is linked to the unprecedented increase in the grasshopper insects,” the daily quoted the health authorities as saying.
Resident Joseph Mogum in Wad Medani, about 110 miles southeast of the capital Khartoum, said the grasshoppers gave off a strong smell which caused breathing problems.
