Sudan announces rise in cholera and dengue fever deaths

Sudan’s Ministry of Health announced on Tuesday that the death toll from the cholera epidemic has risen to 699, while the death toll from dengue fever has risen to nine. “Eighty-two new cases of cholera and one death were recorded, bringing the number of cases to 24,604, including 699 deaths,” confirmed the ministry.

There has been a fall in cholera cases in a number of states, including Khartoum, River Nile and Northern in the north of the country, and Kassala and Gedaref in the east. The number has increased in other states, including Al-Jazira in the centre of Sudan, and in Sennar and White Nile in the south.

In the same statement, the ministry noted that “95 new cases of dengue fever were recorded, including four deaths, bringing the number of cases to 2,024, including nine deaths in five of Sudan’s 18 states.”

There has been no formal declaration of dengue fever being an epidemic in the country, but the ministry used the term “epidemic” in its statement on Tuesday.

The dengue virus is transmitted to humans through the bites of mosquitoes carrying it, and those infected show symptoms of severe fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, in addition to nausea and vomiting. As with cholera, it is a bacterial disease that usually spreads through contaminated water, and causes severe diarrhoea and dehydration. If the infected person is not treated, it can be fatal within hours.

The health catastrophes in the country coincide with the continued suffering due to the ongoing war between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces since mid-April 2023, which has killed about 18,800 and left nearly 10 million displaced and refugees, according to the UN.

There are increasing international and UN calls to spare Sudan a humanitarian disaster that has begun to push millions to famine and death as a result of the food shortages caused by the fighting that has spread to 13 states.

READ: War turning Sudan’s cities into hell, rights groups warn