Cholera outbreak kills at least 500 in south Sudan

May 23, 2006 (KHARTOUM) — More than 500 people have died in a cholera outbreak in southern Sudan where two-thirds of the population drink unclean water, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said on Tuesday.

Southern Sudan’s towns are overflowing as hundreds of thousands of people return home after a peace deal signed last year to end more than two decades of civil war. Living in crowded, unsanitary conditions, diseases like cholera and meningitis are spreading fast.

An outbreak of acute watery diarrhoea began in late January and the first cases of cholera were confirmed in February. Since then, it has spread to six of the 10 southern states.

Cholera is a water-borne disease which causes vomiting and acute diarrhoea that can lead to rapid dehydration and death within 24 hours if not treated swiftly.

Until May 5 there were 516 deaths and 13,852 cases of acute watery diarrhoea, WHO said in a statement on Tuesday. It was unclear how many of those cases tested positive for cholera.

U.N. agencies are distributing jerry cans, chlorine and soap to try to prevent the spread of the outbreak.

(Reuters)