Sudan: 4 094 cholera cases

2006-03-16 09:25

Khartoum - The International Red Cross said ON Wednesday that a total of 4 094 cases of cholera, including 79 deaths, were reported in the southern Sudanese city of Juba since the outbreak of the disease there last month.

"As of March 7, the total number of cases of acute watery diarrhoea reported in Juba was 4 094 and the number of resulting deaths 79" the Geneva-based group said in a statement sent to news organisations in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.

Juba is the capital of the autonomous southern Sudan region. It has a population of more than 250 000 people who are known to rely heavily on polluted water from the River Nile.

The Red Cross said it has airlifted about 30 tonnes of emergency medical supplies to Juba in response to the cholera outbreak. Its staff are helping Juba Teaching Hospital to run and expand an isolation ward and have installed an emergency water-supply system.

"The hospital has been admitting some 20 victims of acute watery diarrhoea per day. Other victims have received care elsewhere," said the statement.

It said cholera has been confirmed in Malakal, a major urban centre on the banks of the Nile to the north of Juba. Thirty-four cases had been admitted to a cholera-treatment centre there run by the charity Medecins Sans Frontieres.

Cholera is transmitted by consumption of contaminated water and food and is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation. It leads to severe diarrhoea and dehydration.

The first suspected cholera cases were reported at the end of January in Yei, a town southwest of Juba. Since then, the disease has quickly spread. On February 6, the first suspected case was identified in Juba and a few days later the cholera outbreak was confirmed.

- AP