Diarrhoea epidemic: Death toll rises in Sudan

The death toll in the current watery diarrhoea outbreak in Sudan continues to rise as medical facilities struggle to cope. Babies, young children and the elderly are especially vulnerable.

Three people died including a basic school student at village 27 in Um El Ghura locality of in El Gezira state. 17 more cases have been registered.

Asmahan Adam Zakaria, the member of El Gezira legislative council said that Wed Medani hospital in the state capital, and the state health authorities, have refused to hand over the three victim’s bodies to their relatives, without explaining any reasons.

Zakaria said that the parents have stopped their children from going to school for fear of infection with the disease.

Epidemic

In Khartoum the Sudanese Health Minister, Bahar Idriss Abu Garda, has announced the deaths of 71 and infection of 3,771 people due to the epidemic in six States including Kassala, El Gedaref, Sennar, El Gezira, the Blue Nile and the River Nile.

MPs have demanded tasking the federal government with environment affairs because of environmental degradation and contamination of drinking water.

On Monday three new-born sets of twins died in the Obstetrics and Gynaecology hospital because of lack of medicines.

A Medical source said that Italian aid has provided Port Sudan hospital with medicines, and wondered where they have gone. The source has demanded the federal government to provide sufficient medicines to the state.

Strike

In El Nahud in West Kordofan patients have overcrowded the hospital and wards because of the doctors’ strike, that has been running since Tuesday, this in addition to the high price of operations in the private hospitals in the city.

A medical source told Radio Dabanga that the critical cases were transferred to El Obeyed hospital as a result of the strike.