According to the Ministry of Health, one person has died and 30 people have been sick with cholera in South Sudan, which has not been seen since 2017.
The government announced in a statement on Saturday that “…a cholera outbreak has occurred in Rubkona County, Unity State” in the country’s north.
“To date, 31 instances have been documented in Rubkona locality and Bentiu IDP camp, including one fatality,” the statement stated, adding that all patients have been treated and discharged from the hospital.
“The Ministry of Health and its partners are continuing to investigate (…) to find other cholera cases,” the statement continued.
According to government and World Health Organization data, the first incidence in a two-year-old girl was reported on March 20 and verified by officials on April 14.
Following that, a 7-year-old child tested positive and died on March 25.
South Sudan had not had cholera since December 2017, when an epidemic was reported in June 2016 that claimed the lives of 436 people.
What exactly is cholera?
Cholera is an infectious disease that produces severe watery diarrhoea, which can lead to dehydration and death if left untreated.
Cholera is a severe hazard to humanity, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), with 1.3 million to 4 million cases reported each year. Between 21,000 and 143,000 people died.
