SOMALINET NEWS ...Archives
SUDAN: MORE THAN 230 PEOPLE KILLED BY CHOLERA March 23, 2006
Apunyu Bonny
(SomaliNet) At least 238 people have been killed and some 8 923 others affected by cholera outbreak in the past three months in southern Sudan, the World Health Organisation (WHO) said. AP reports.
According to a statement released by WHO on Wednesday, Cholera has spread to other areas in Sudan despite the fact that it has been contained in two main southern towns of Juba and Yei,
Cholera is transmitted by consumption of contaminated water and food and it is linked to poor hygiene, overcrowding and inadequate sanitation.
WHO said that measures to control the cholera outbreak, including strengthening surveillance and reporting systems and water chlorination are underway.
The outbreak occurred in both southern Sudan's main city of Juba and Yei, near the Ugandan border and according to WHO, The situation in Yei is "stable and improving daily," with the last case reported on Monday. In Juba the outbreak has been declared officially over.
The first suspected cases were reported at the end of January in Yei. Since then, the disease has spread quickly. On February 6 the first suspected case was identified in Juba and a few days later the cholera outbreak was confirmed.
Mean while, Southern Sudan's infrastructure has been battered by 21 years of civil war and little has improved in the region.