Contagious diseases spread fast in Sudan amid war, rainy season

Contagious diseases, including cholera and conjunctivitis, are spreading rapidly in Sudan due to the prolonged conflict that has severely impacted the country's health sector, compounded by annual heavy rains and floods, according to Sudanese authorities and experts.

On August 18, Sudan's Health Minister Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said in a statement that the number of cholera cases in the country had reached 354, including 22 deaths.

The Sudanese authorities officially declared a cholera outbreak in the country a day earlier, noting that laboratory tests had confirmed the spread of cholera in different areas of Sudan, including the states of Kassala, Gedaref, Gezira and Khartoum.

However, the World Health Organization (WHO) has reported a much higher number. On August 16, WHO spokesperson Margaret Harris reportedly said in a media call that 11,327 cholera cases with 316 deaths had been reported in Sudan and that other epidemic diseases like dengue fever and meningitis infections were also on the rise.

She further stated that the WHO expects the actual number of cholera infections to be higher than what has been reported.

According to Sudan's Health Ministry, the cholera outbreak was primarily caused by deteriorating environmental conditions due to the war and the use of unsafe water in several areas.

Meanwhile, the ministry said on August 13 in its latest report on the epidemiological situation in the country that the number of conjunctivitis cases, also known as pink eye disease, has reached 2,689 across nine states.

The country's Northern State reported on August 17 that it has registered 1,410 cases of acute conjunctivitis, while the Red Sea State in eastern Sudan reported 107 cases of acute viral conjunctivitis.

Hamza Awadalla, a Sudanese epidemiologist and community medicine specialist, attributed the high rates of disease infections to the repercussions of the war, lack of precautionary measures and the government's inability to organize vaccination campaigns amid insecurity in most of the war-affected states.

Conjunctivitis "is caused by viruses that often spread during the fall" and is associated with deteriorating environmental conditions, Awadalla told Xinhua.

The rapid spread of contagious diseases was mainly caused by the war and deteriorating environment during the rainy season, according to a recent report by the Sudanese Doctors Syndicate, a professional association of Sudanese doctors.

"There are challenges facing the health sector and a severe shortage of life-saving medicines," it said.

According to Sudan's Interior Ministry, 68 people have been killed since June due to heavy rains and floods that have affected several parts of Sudan.

Flooding is a yearly occurrence in the country, typically happening between June and October. Over the past three years, heavy rains have claimed hundreds of lives and destroyed vast swathes of agricultural land.

Sudan has been witnessing a deadly conflict between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces since April 15, 2023, resulting in the loss of at least 16,650 lives. An estimated 10.7 million people are now internally displaced in Sudan, with approximately 2.2 million others seeking refuge in neighboring countries, according to the most recent UN data.