Thousands of cholera patients treated in Sudan’s White Nile State

Since 20 February, when the latest cholera outbreak started in Sudan’s White Nile State, until 5 March, a total of 2,718 people have been admitted to the Ministry of Health cholera treatment centre at Kosti Teaching Hospital, supported by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF). Sadly, 92 of these patients have died.

This wave of cholera, a waterborne disease, was triggered by a mass power outage after the Rabak power plant was reportedly hit by a projectile from the Rapid Support Forces on 16 February. This led the community to rely mostly on water procured from donkey carts after water pumps went out of service. 

“Attacks on critical infrastructure have long-term detrimental effects on the health of vulnerable communities,” says Marta Cazorla, MSF emergency coordinator for Sudan. “Warring parties must adhere to the rules of war and ensure that civilians and critical infrastructure are protected.” 

The peak of this outbreak was between 20 and 24 February, as patients and their families rushed to the Kosti hospital in a state of panic. The influx of cases, most of them severely dehydrated, led to patients overflowing and having to be treated on the floor as the hospital and the cholera treatment centre (CTC) ran out of space.

To get the situation under control, the White Nile State Ministry of Health coordinated the outbreak response at community level. They provided access to clean water to the community, banned donkey carts, and raised awareness through health promotion. Moreover, they managed a cholera vaccination campaign during the week of the outbreak. 

Our team worked hand in hand with the Ministry of Health staff from Kosti Teaching hospital and additional medical staff from Rabak hospital, on treatment, supporting with on-the-job training, and supervision, as well as providing incentives to the staff. 

Additionally, MSF mobilised logistics support from Port Sudan, Kassala and Kosti, providing 14 metric tonnes of medical items, such as medicines and treatment kits, as well as over 25 tonnes of logistical items such as beds and tents to Kosti to assist the response and expand the capacity of the treatment centre.  Moreover, the team provided the treatment centre with clean water supply and storage, as well as chlorination and infection control.

Distributed by APO Group on behalf of Médecins sans frontières (MSF).

The post Thousands of cholera patients treated in Sudan’s White Nile State first appeared on Future Media News.

The post Thousands of cholera patients treated in Sudan’s White Nile State appeared first on Future Media News.