Six percent (6%) of South Sudan's cholera patients have died from the disease during the ongoing outbreak, a rate which is three times the emergency threshold.

In the week since the outbreak was declared, 29 people have died out of 484 cases, according to UNICEF figures through 30 June.

By comparison, in the 2014 South Sudan cholera outbreak, it took over a month from the declaration of outbreak to reach the same number of deaths. The 2014 outbreak ultimately killed 167 people out of 6,421 total cases, a fatality rate of 2.6%.

Confirmed cases in this year's outbreak have been found at least in UN House Protection of Civilians site, New Site, Gumbo, Khor William, Mangaten, Gudele 1, and Munuki neighborhoods.

When health minister Riek Gai announced this year's outbreak on 23 June, he said Juba had one operational cholera treatment center, located at Juba Teaching Hospital. He said the ministry would wait to see if it would be necessary to open more treatment centers in other locations.

Gai denied that a lack of funds was the reason they were waiting to open other treatment centers.

Photo:  Cholera treatment centre in South Sudan in 2014 (Medair/Wendy van Amerongen)

Related:

Cholera deaths reach 20 as Juba outbreak spreads (27 Jun.)

Ministry of Health covering up cholera outbreak in Juba (21 Jun.)