More than 300 deaths recorded in Sudan cholera outbreak

More than 300 deaths recorded in Sudan cholera outbreak

The outbreak has affected nine states, with over 11,000 reported cases.
Cholera / Photo: Reuters

The death toll from the cholera outbreak in Sudan has risen to 348, according to the Health Ministry.

The outbreak has affected nine states, with over 11,000 reported cases. Additionally, there are concerns about a potential dengue fever outbreak, with two suspected fatalities.

Heavy rains and floods have exacerbated the spread of cholera since June.

The ineffective healthcare system in war-torn Sudan has further complicated efforts to contain infectious diseases.

Epidemic

Sudan's health minister in August declared a cholera epidemic after weeks of heavy rain in the war-torn country, in a video released by his ministry.

Haitham Ibrahim said the decision was taken in conjunction with authorities in the eastern state of Kassala, United Nations agencies, and experts after the "discovery by the public health laboratory of the cholera virus."

The northeast African country has been engulfed in a war since April 2023 between the Sudanese army under the country's de facto ruler Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), led by his former deputy Mohamed Hamdan Daglo.

The conflict has unleashed one of the world's worst humanitarian crises, with more than 25 million people -- upwards of half the population -- facing acute hunger.

Food scarcity

Famine has been declared in a displacement camp in the vast western region of Darfur.

Thousands of people have been displaced by flooding, causing an increase in sickness, including diarrhoea, especially in children.

Cholera causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting, and muscle cramps, and generally arises from eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium, according to the World Health Organisation.

It can cause severe dehydration, leading in some cases to death within a few hours.

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TRT Afrika and agencies