UN: 16 deaths, 1,082 patients of disease outbreaks in Sudan 

Some 16 Sudanese citizens were announced dead from causes such as cholera, dengue fever, rift valley fever (RVF) and chikungunya, and 1,082 have caught these diseases, UNOCHA announced on Thursday.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA) stated in a report that “over the past couple of months, Sudan has been facing numerous disease outbreaks including cholera, dengue fever, rift valley fever (RVF) and chikungunya.”

As of 22 October 2019, the report revealed, “323 suspected cholera cases, including ten deaths, were reported in Blue Nile, Sennar and Khartoum states.”

It also disclosed that “there are 535 dengue fever cases – including two deaths – reported in Kassala, Red Sea, North Darfur, South Darfur and West Darfur states, since the onset of the disease on 8 August until 22 October 2019.”

According to the report, “of all the cases reported, 95.6 per cent have affected people over five-years of age and 57 per cent are female.”

The report also stated that “there are 193 RVF cases – including four deaths – reported in Red Sea, River Nile and Khartoum states, since the outbreak of the disease, between 28 September and 22 October 2019.”

The report unveiled that “of all the cases reported, 94.8 per cent have affected people over five-years of age and 83 per cent are male.”

Regarding chikungunya, “there are 31 Chikungunya cases reported in South, West and East Darfur states since the onset of the disease, between 2 October and 22 October 2019.”

The report noted that the increase of these outbreaks “can be linked to the recent floods in the country that have left large pools of stagnant water, which are breeding sites for various types of vectors such as mosquitoes and houseflies.”

It stated that the government authorities and humanitarian partners are actively responding to these outbreaks across the country, providing health assistance, vaccinations where appropriate and vector control interventions.

The UNOCHA has warned that up 13,200 people are expected to catch cholera during the six coming months.

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