Africa-Press – South-Sudan. The national Ministry of Health has issued an advisory urging the public to observe personal hygiene to prevent the outbreak of cholera during the rainy season.
This directive came following last month’s detected cholera case at the Protection of Civilian (POC) site in Bentiu, Unity State, which caused panic over the potential outbreak of the disease among the vulnerable population.
“The Ministry of Health is vigilantly monitoring the situation. “Active case finding was conducted in the households and their neighbourhood and did not identify additional cholera cases,” said the ministry in a statement over the weekend.
“The Ministry of Health would like to reiterate that there is no cholera outbreak in South Sudan and there is no reason to panic. However, vigilance should be maintained to prevent community transmission and spread in populations with inadequate access to safe drinking water, poor personal hygiene, and inadequate access to improved sanitation facilities, “it added.
In late March, MSF reported two suspected cholera cases in Bentiu PoC Hospital to the ministry of health. One of them tested positive for Vibrio cholerae at both the country’s rapid diagnostic testing (RDT) and National Public Health Laboratory (NPHL).
A parent and a male child aged two years and five months were further confirmed positive in the National Microbiology Reference Laboratory in Kampala, Uganda.
According to the ministry of health, there has been a steady rise in acute watery diarrhoea cases within the IDP camp and the host community in Bentiu. However, no additional cases of cholera have tested positive following RDT screening.
Cholera is a waterborne disease that is transmitted by eating or drinking water that is contaminated with Vibrio cholerae, the bacteria that causes the disease. The patient normally has watery diarrhoea, vomiting, dehydration, abdominal pains, and muscle cramps.
Improving access to safe water, sanitation, and hygiene are essential to cholera control, as safe and effective cholera vaccines to complement the core cholera.
However, the Unity State Minister of Health last month expressed disappointment over elderly people’s disregard for cholera vaccination launched in February in Bentiu. The state is one of the cholera-prone areas in South Sudan.
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