More chikungunya cases appear in Sudan’s Red Sea state

In the northern part of Red Sea state, 52 cases of chikungunya fever have been recorded in the past ten days. So far most infections of chikungunya were mainly reported in Kassala.

A medical source in Jebeit town told Radio Dabanga that doctors sent samples to Port Sudan to ascertain the nature of the disease, noting that the clinical examination has proved identical to chikungunya fever.

So far most infections of chikungunya had mainly been reported in Kassala, the state that shares the Red Sea state’s southern border. Jebeit, however, lies in the north of Red Sea.

Salah El Mubarak, the director of emergency management at the Ministry of Health, warned of the spread of mosquitoes, which are the carrier of the fever. “The situation in Kassala needs 1,108 health workers,” he claimed.

On September 20 Radio Dabanga reported that health sources in Red Sea state confirmed a number of cases of chikungunya. People then called on the authorities to intervene to contain the disease so as not to spread to the towns and rural areas. The outbreak was first confirmed in Kassala by doctors late August.

Khartoum: five cases

In Khartoum, Health Minister Mamoun Himeida announced the arrival of five patients suffering from chikungunya to the state. He stressed that there are no pills to prevent the disease. “The provision of anti-bacterial drugs is ineffective because the disease is viral,” he told Sudanese media.

‘2 per cent of cases fatal’

The State Minister of Health, Souad El Karib said that the percentage of deaths due to chikungunya accounts for two percent of all reported infections. Earlier government statistics showed the total number of infection cases to be 12,080 people. This would mean there have been 2,416 deadly cases.

Meanwhile residents in Kassala have called for the suspension of basic and higher secondary schools until the epidemic has been contained. Listeners reported to Radio Dabanga that the rate of absent teachers and students is on the rise because of the fever.

Majzoub Abu Mousa, a spokesman for the Kassala administration, told Reuters that his state had received health and technical aid from Sudan’s health ministry, but expressed concern over the spread of the virus and called for further help.