Khartoum, 19 August 2024 (TDI): Sudan has been stricken by a cholera outbreak that has killed about two dozen people and sickened hundreds more in recent weeks, health said Sunday.
The African country has been roiled by a sixteen-month conflict and devastating floods.
Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement that at least twenty two people have died from the outbreak, and that about 354 confirmed cases of cholera have been detected across Sudan.
He didn’t give a time frame for the fatalities or the tally since the start of the year. The World Health Organization (WHO), however, said that 78 deaths were registered from cholera this year in Sudan as of July 28. The disease also sickened over 2,400 others between January 1 and July 28, it said.
Cholera is a highly contagious and fast-developing infection that causes diarrhea, leading to severe dehydration and possible death within hours when not treated, according to WHO. It is transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated water or food.
The cholera outbreak is the latest calamity for the country, which was plunged into chaos in April 2023 when simmering tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group exploded into open warfare across Sudan.
The war has turned the capital, Khartoum and other urban areas into battlefields, destroying civilian infrastructure and an already battered health care system. Without the basics, many medical facilities and hospitals 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 Sudanese in the wrecked northern region of Darfur.
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Sudan’s conflict has created the largest displacement in the world. Over 10.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting erupted, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than two million of those fled to neighboring countries.
