24 killed, 800 hospitalised in Sudan cholera outbreak
In Southern Sudan an outbreak of cholera is spreading “out of control”, killing at least 24 and hospitalising 800 over the past three days.
According to The New Arab, Doctors Without Borders (MSF) announced these figures on February 21st, the day after Sudanese health officials reported that around 400 cases of cholera had been detected in Kosti.
This uptick in cases has been attributed to a “shortage of water due to power outages,” said the health ministry.
Sudan’s healthcare system is already under immense pressure due to the country’s brutal civil war, killing tens of thousands and displacing over 12 million. It is thought the power outages are related to an RSF drone strike on a power station.
Doctors Without Borders have said “the most likely source of infection is the river, where many families have been collecting water using donkey carts after a major power outage in the area.”
Due to this, officials have since banned this, as well as encouraging stronger chlorination of the water distribution system. A majority of restaurants and markets have been closed as a precaution.
The outbreak has overwhelmed the cholera treatment centre at Kosti Teaching Hospital, as countless patients suffer from “acute diarrhoea, dehydration, vomiting, and sunken eyes”.
MSF’s medical coordinator in Kosti, Dr Francis Layoo Ocan, has described the situation as alarming, expressing his fears that it is about to spiral out of control: “We’ve run out of space, and we are now admitting patients in an open area and treating them on the floor because there are not enough beds,” he said
The French charity has been supporting cholera care in the region since October 2024, reported a dramatic rise in admissions since February 19th , when 100 new patients came to the cholera treatment centre.
Two days later, that number increased to over 800, while 24 people have died. So far, around 48 others have been discharged after receiving treatment.
The World Health Organization (WHO) says that cholera can kill within hours when left untreated, however most cases can be resolved with oral rehydration and antibiotics.
Sudan was already struggling to manage cholera cases, as 1,316 died due to the disease since August 2024.
The New Arab, Maghrebi, The World Health Organization
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