Cholera now in 12 states of Sudan

On Monday in Khartoum the Health Minister Bahar Idris Abugarda announced the spread of ‘watery diarrhoea’ in 12 states and confirmed the death of four people and infection of 186 others during the past week. Reports of deaths and infections continue to reach this station from across Sudan.

Ten people have died and 26 others have been infected with cholera at camp El Salam in Nyala, capital of South Darfur in the last 10 days.

One of the Sheikhs of the camp told Radio Dabanga that the epidemic appeared at Madarin village and moved to Yebeldiyat village near the camp on July 8.

He pointed to the emergence of cases at camp El Salam on July 12, and said that on Tuesday the camp isolation centre received two cases, bringing the total number of cases during the past ten days to 26 cases. Ten people died.

Red Sea state

Tokar hospital in the Red Sea state has recorded 13 new cases of cholera during the past three days.

Journalist Osman Hashim told Radio Dabanga that the cases of cholera were concentrated in the Kurit district of Tokar. He pointed to the poor health care at Tokar Hospital and other state hospitals.

West Kordofan schools closed

Schools in three localities in West Kordofan state have remained closed because parent have refused to allow their children to go to school for fear of cholera.

A parent told Radio Dabanga that the schools in Abu Zabad, Sunut and El Dabker have still been closed despite the announcement by the Ministry of Education that the study had started in all localities of the state since July 2.

He attributed the closure of schools to the refusal of parents to allow their children go to school for fear of suffering of cholera and pointed to the escalation of rates of cholera in the three localities.

He explained that people have appealed to the Ministry of Education to postpone the opening of schools until the decrease of the epidemic and expressed their concern that their children will be affected by the partial unannounced postponement and imbalanced calendar for the current school year across the state.

12 states

On Monday in Khartoum the Health Minister Bahar Idris Abugarda announced the spread of watery diarrhoea in 12 states and confirmed the death of four people and infection of 186 others during the past week.

The Minister said that El Gezira state has recorded the highest rate of infection, where the total recorded cases were 28, the Nile River 27, El Gedaref 25, the White Nile 20, North Kordofan 17, South Darfur 16, Sennar 15, South Kordofan ten, East Darfur, North Darfur eight, four in each of Blue Nile and West Kordofan and two in Kassala.

On Tuesday Kabkabiya Hospital in North Darfur recorded 11 new cases of cholera, bringing the total number of cases in the isolation centre to 32.

Yesterday a woman voluntary worker from Kabkabiya told Radio Dabanga that the cases have been transmitted from the villages of Um Lota, Margouba, Muallaga, Kala and the El Salam camp.

On Tuesday three schoolgirls at El Sawra Basic School in El Obeid were infected with cholera.

A teacher told Radio Dabanga that the school administration ended the school day ahead of schedule and earlier discharged the girls to their homes.

The teacher said one of the girls was studying at the kindergarten and while the two girls were studying in the first grade of El SawraBasic School.

Isolation centre

Dr Amer Adam, deputy specialist in family medicine and head of the doctors committee at El Obeid Hospital revealed the steady increase of cases of cholera in the isolation centre at El Obeid eye hospital.

He said that the isolation centre is daily recording between 15-25 cases and harshly criticised the Ministry of Health for not disclosing the medical test results.

A health source told Radio Dabanga that 40 new cases of cholera have been recorded in El Gedaref on Tuesday

He said that El Gedaref Hospital recorded six new cases of infection, bringing the total number of infection in the isolation centre to 31 cases.

The source said that El Rahad locality has recorded ten cases at the villages of Gargareeb and Ghireigana

The source pointed to recording of four cases at Um Sineibra village of El Gedaref, while El Gallabat West recorded 20 new cases of cholera.

Halayeb triangle

The contested Halayeb Triangle on the border between Egypt and Sudan’s Red Sea State and surrounding areas in eastern Sudan are experiencing increased rates of tuberculosis, drinking water scarcity, and drought.

Omda Mohamed El Hassan Okeir said pointing to the increasing suffering of people due to thirst that “The price of a barrel of water in Halayeb triangle has risen to SDG 120”.

He explained the increase of incidences of tuberculosis and lack of health care in the region.

He pointed out that the pastures in the region have decreased due to over-cutting.

Kassala

Hundreds of workers have gathered in front of the Epidemiology Department of the Ministry of Health in Kassala to get and renew health cards.

One of the workers told Radio Dabanga that the locality workers demanded a valid health card.

He pointed out that the ministry grants health cards to workers without conducting the necessary medical examinations.

He considered these measures an attempt by the Government to increase revenues through imposing fees that have nothing to do with caring for the health of people or fighting cholera.

Background

Cholera is a fast-developing, highly contagious infection that can spread in areas short of clean drinking water and with poor sanitation. In September last year Radio Dabanga received the first reports about cholera cases, in Blue Nile state. Since then, the disease spread in eastern Sudan, and later to the Northern State and central Sudan’s El Gezira. In April, sources in White Nile state reported a rapid spread of cholera. The disease then spread to North Kordofan, and fully hit Khartoum in May, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Sudan said in June.

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