Sudan cholera epidemic spreads to North Darfur

The cholera epidemic that has claimed hundreds of lives throughout Sudan’s Nile valley has now spread to North Darfur.

Nine people have reportedly died and about 82 others have been infected with cholera over the last four days at camp Naivasha in Shangil Tobaya locality, North Darfur.

In an interview with Radio Dabanga, a camp sheikh said that the disease appeared on Sunday at the camp and spread very quickly among the displaced. A team from the state health ministry established a camp isolation centre and prevented the displaced from leaving and entering the camp. The camp market has also been closed as a precaution.

The former director of Nahar Medical and Health Organisation working in the area, Abdallah Rasheed, reported that on Wednesday that 47 patients, including four children, were suffering from acute watery diarrhoea and vomiting – characteristic symptoms of cholera.

He said that on Wednesday a consignment of medicine arrived from the state capital of El Fasher, as well as a campaign for health education and water sources.

He said the working group consisted of six people, four from El Fasher and two from Shangil Tobaya along with 10 volunteers.

Inadequate

The camp sheikh named the dead as Mohamed Ishag, Hawa Abdallah, her sister Haleema Abdallah, Kaltoum Abakar, Mariam Yahya, Mohamed Suleiman, Abakar Mohamed, Mohamed Khalil, and Zakariya Abakar.

He said that “the medical team from El Fasher is insufficient and too few to cover the number of patients received daily. The medicine in their possession is insufficient for the number of cases.”

He pointed out that the medical team sent an appeal to the displaced persons to immediately move any infected person to the centre for treatment.

He said they are towing the government line by referring to the disease as ‘watery diarrhoea’.

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