South Sudan declares end of cholera outbreak after 436 deaths

JUBA, Feb. 9 — South Sudan’s health ministry and World Health
Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared the end of a cholera outbreak in
the strife-torn country, where 436 people have died from the disease since
July last year.

“We today declare an end of the cholera outbreak that affected the country
from June 18 2016 to December 18 2017,” South Sudan health minister Riek
Gai Kok told journalists in Juba. The outbreak was declared in South Sudan
on July 22, 2016. Kok said the ministry documented 20,438 cases with 436
deaths in 26 counties during the 18 months of outbursts.He said the last
confirmed cholera case was reported in al Sabah hospital, Juba, in December
2017. “As we declare the end of cholera outbreak, the public is
encouraged to continue observing the preventive measures to avoid cholera
and other diarrheal diseases,” said Kok. He said the outbreak was the
longest and largest cholera epidemic ever recorded in terms of scale and
spread in the country. The minister said the outbreak was successfully
interrupted through joint efforts from health partners and donors like
Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). – XINHUA