Nearly 100,000 struck with cholera in Sudan — WHO

GENEVA, Switzerland (AFP) — The World Health Organization (WHO) on Thursday said nearly 100,000 cholera cases had been reported in Sudan since July last year, as it warned of more hunger, displacement and disease to come.

Since April 2023, Sudan has been torn apart by a power struggle between army chief Abdel Fattah al-Burhan and Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, commander of the rival paramilitary Rapid Support Forces. The fighting has killed tens of thousands.

“In Sudan, unrelenting violence has led to widespread hunger, disease and suffering,” said WHO chief Tedros Adhanom Ghebreyesus.

“Cholera has swept across Sudan, with all states reporting outbreaks. Nearly 100,000 cases have been reported since July last year.”

Oral cholera vaccination campaigns had been conducted in several states, including the capital Khartoum, he told a press conference with the Geneva UN correspondents’ association ACANU.

“While we are seeing a declining trend in numbers, there are gaps in disease surveillance, and progress is fragile,” he said.

“Recent floods, affecting large parts of the country, are expected to worsen hunger and fuel more outbreaks of cholera, malaria, dengue and other diseases.”

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection that spreads through food and water contaminated with bacteria, often from feces.

It causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and muscle cramps.

Cholera can kill within hours when not attended to, though it can be treated with simple oral rehydration, and antibiotics for more severe cases.

There has been a global increase in cholera cases, and their geographical spread, since 2021.