The National Ministry of Health on Monday declared an outbreak of cholera in Upper Nile State’s Renk County after confirming six cases.
Addressing a press conference in Juba, Health Minister Yolanda Awel Deng said the announcement comes after the ministry received a report about suspected cases of cholera at the Wunthou Primary Health Care Center on 8 October.
According to the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Cholera is a bacterial disease spread through contaminated water and food and can cause severe diarrhea, dehydration, and even death if the disease goes untreated. People living in places with unsafe drinking water, poor sanitation, and inadequate hygiene are at highest risk of cholera.
According to the minister, since 11 October 2024, her ministry collected a total of 33 samples of suspected cholera cases from Renk County and 6 cases have been confirmed positive at the Public Health Laboratory. She however said no deaths have been reported so far, noting that the proportion of males among all suspected and confirmed cases is 47 percent and 53 percent are females, with the most affected being above 15 years.
“The Ministry of Health therefore declares an outbreak of cholera in Renk County in Upper Nile State based on the confirmation of cholera by culture and confirmed evidence of local transmission in Renk,” Minister Awel announced.
She said her ministry and its partners have responded to the outbreak by activating an incident management system, strengthening response intervention with a focus on multi-sectoral coordination, surveillance, case management, water, Sanitation, and hygiene among others.
“The ministry will also establish and support Cholera Treatment Units and continue to collect additional samples for cultures and develop an immediate cholera response plan for the mobilization of resources to support the response interventions and containment of the outbreak” Awel stated.
She further advised the public to drink and use boiled safe water or treated with chlorine.
“Always wash your hands with soap and clean water before cooking and handling food, eating and feeding children, and after using latrine/toilet and touching a cholera patient,” the minister advised.
Citizens were also advised to keep their home environments and public places clean and dispose of liquid and solid waste safely and properly.