The local authorities in Aweil East County in Northern Bahr el Ghazal State have confirmed that nine family members succumbed to an unknown disease between Wednesday and Thursday morning.
The local officials appealed to health partners to immediately intervene and investigate the deaths that happened in the Adut Adhot area of Warguet Payam in Aweil East.
Aweil County Commissioner Diing Aher Ngong told Radio Tamazuj Thursday morning shortly after the deaths were reported that four other family members died mysteriously two weeks ago in the same area. He said health partners were ordered to investigate and test some samples to identify the disease.
“About nine people have died in the same family and four others already passed away in the same village two weeks ago and this incident has become a major threat in the area,” he stated. “We have transported four other people who were in critical condition to Aweil Civil Hospital and we informed organizations to intervene by taking samples to investigate what type of disease this is that continues killing people.”
Meanwhile, Diing Ngong Majok, a neighbor of the deceased family, said they died one after the other.
“Majok Deng Yak and his wife started suffering from an unknown sickness yesterday (Wednesday) evening and in the middle of the night, they passed away. At 5 a.m. today (Thursday), three family members died and at 8 a.m., four family members who were mourning their loved ones also died.”
Efforts to contact the Aweil East County Health Department authorities were futile.