‘Haemorrhagic fever spreading in eastern Sudan’s Kassala’

Two people reportedly died from haemorrhagic fever in Kassala last week.

A medical source told Radio Dabanga that two people suffering from haemorrhagic fever died at Kassala Hospital last week. “This brings the total number of deaths to three in a month.”

He said that five haemorrhagic fever patients were being treated at the hospital on Saturday. “Dozens of other patients are treated at home after being seen by doctors in their private clinics.”

The source criticised “the silence of the health authorities in the state”. He said that “the state government does not want to disturb the inter-schools competition that will start in mid-November”.

Epidemic

Haemorrhagic fevers reportedly appears in Sudan each year. In 2014, a political activist reported the “alarming spread” of the infectious disease in eastern Sudan’s Red Sea state, while “the state government and health authorities have imposed a blackout on the disease”.

In 2015 and 2016, few reports about haemorrhagic and Dengue fever cases in eastern Sudan reached this station, while the disease widely spread in Darfur. In April this year however, medical sources warned for a possible outbreak of haemorrhagic fever in Red Sea state’s Tokar locality.

Viral haemorrhagic fevers (VHFs) are a group of illnesses caused by four families of viruses. These include the Ebola and Marburg, Lassa fever, and yellow fever viruses. VHFs have common features: they affect many organs, damage the blood vessels, and affect the body's ability to regulate itself.