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Mystery Disease Terrifies Sudan Officials

Jan 28, 11:18 AM (ET)

By EMMA ROSS

KACNGUAN, Sudan (AP) - Martha Halim is stricken with mysterious seizures that frighten her from eating. Her parents have tried everything to diagnose the ailment. She's been to a hospital, she's seen a Western doctor and she's taken anti-epileptic drugs.

Halim lives in fear. She is terrified of the moon's phases, afraid of eating and fearful of fires, rivers and ponds.

The 13-year-old has been to witch doctors and followed the advice of one, crawling through a termite mound while her parents slit the throat of a goat.

She gives a grim description of what it's like when her disease overpowers her.

"When it comes, it looks like a black cloud but in the shape of a human," said Martha. "That's all I know. At the end, I find myself on the floor."

Martha suffers from a strange affliction called "nodding syndrome," apparently unique to southern Sudan. Its young victims tend to nod vigorously at the sight of food. The condition often progresses to severe seizures, mental retardation and death.

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