Cholera outbreak kills at least 22 people in Sudan, health minister says

Highly contagious cholera causes diarrhoea, leading to dehydration and possible death within hours when not treated, according to the WHO

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A child suffering from cholera receives treatment at a rural isolation centre in Wad Al-Hilu, Kassala state, eastern Sudan on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Published: 3:54am, 19 Aug 2024

Sudan has been stricken by a cholera outbreak that has killed nearly two dozen people and sickened hundreds more in recent weeks, health authorities said on Sunday. The African nation has been roiled by a 16-month conflict and devastating floods.

Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement that at least 22 people have died from the disease, and that at least 354 confirmed cases of cholera have been detected across the county in recent weeks.

Ibrahim did not give a time frame for the deaths or the tally since the start of the year. The World Health Organization, however, said 78 deaths were recorded from cholera this year in Sudan as of July 28. The disease also sickened more than 2,400 others between January 1 and July 28, it said.

A man disinfects a rural isolation centre where patients are being treated for cholera in Wad Al-Hilu, Kassala state in eastern Sudan on Sunday. Photo: AFP

Cholera is a fast-developing, highly contagious infection that causes diarrhoea, leading to severe dehydration and possible death within hours when not treated, according to WHO. It is transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water.

The cholera outbreak is the latest calamity for Sudan, which was plunged into chaos in April last year when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group exploded into open warfare across the country.

The conflict has turned the capital, Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields, wrecking civilian infrastructure and an already battered healthcare system. Without the basics, many hospitals and medical facilities have closed their doors.

It has killed thousands of people and pushed many into starvation, with famine already confirmed in a sprawling camp for displaced people in the wrecked northern region of Darfur.

Sudan’s conflict has created the world’s largest displacement crisis. More than 10.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than 2 million of those fled to neighbouring countries.