Death toll in Sudan cholera outbreak rises to 47

Feb 17, 2006 (NAIROBI) — The death toll from a suspected cholera outbreak in southern Sudan has climbed to 47 with nearly 1,500 people ill, United Nations officials said, and fears rose of a major epidemic.

While only one confirmed cholera death has been reported, it is believed responsible for outbreaks of severe diarrhoea, a main symptom of the disease, that have infected and killed the others, they said.

The deaths and cholera symptoms among the ill were first reported in late January in the town of Yei, where 26 people have died, and then spread to the southern Sudanese capital of Juba, where 21 have now died, they said.

“The outbreak of acute diarrhoea and cholera in Juba continues to be alarming, with 21 deaths reported so far,” the UN children’s Fund (UNICEF) said in a statement released in the Kenyan capital on Friday.

“The situation in Yei, where the outbreak began, is relatively stable, and the total number of reported deaths there and in surrounding villages is 26,” it said.

Health officials have warned of catastrophe if cholera spreads through Juba, a city of about 250,000 people that relies almost entirely on untreated water from the heavily-polluted Nile.

UNICEF said it and other agencies had put in place an emergency response to combat the illness by giving medical supplies to hospitals and clinics in the area and boosting and repairing water treatment facilities.

South Sudan’s infrastructure was largely destroyed by a 21-year civil war that ended only last year and is prone to outbreaks of deadly disease.

Cholera is a highly contagious and potentially fatal disease that thrives in conditions of poor hygiene and inadequate water supplies. It is generally caused by using dirty water for drinking and cooking.

It leads to severe diarrhoea, dehydration and sometimes death.

(AFP/ST)