Malaria epidemic kills 10 in North Darfur

The Sudan Doctors’ Central Committee of North Darfur reported the outbreak of a renewed malaria epidemic yesterday. Ten people have died of malaria at the El Fasher Teaching Hospital this month.

The committee reported that the number of patients that come to the hospitals and the severity of the cases is increasing. The epidemic is caused by malaria parasite Plasmodium vivax.

This parasite is the most frequent and widely distributed vector of recurring malaria. Although it is less virulent than Plasmodium falciparum, the deadliest of the five human malaria parasites, P. vivax malaria infections can lead to severe disease and death, often due to a pathologically enlarged spleen. P. vivax is carried by the female anopheles mosquito; the males do not bite.

The Sudan Doctors’ Central Committee of North Darfur called on the North Darfur authorities and the federal Ministry of Health to urgently develop a plan to reduce the spread of the disease.

Kassala

In Kassala in eastern Sudan, two people died of dengue fever this week, bringing the number of deaths to 15 cases in two months. Hospitals in the state recorded 91 new cases, bringing the total number of patients to more than 700.

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