Cholera outbreak leaves 172 dead in a week in Sudan

(AFP) At least 172 people died from cholera in just one week in Sudan, and 2,700 infections were also recorded in the same period, the African country's Health Ministry said Tuesday.

Ninety percent of the cases were recorded in the state of Khartoum, the capital, where water and electricity supplies were severely disrupted in recent weeks by drone strikes, the ministry said in a statement.

Cases were also reported in the south, center and north of the country, immersed since April 2023 in a war between General Abdel Fatah al-Burhan, head of the army, and his former subordinate Mohamed Hamdan Daglo, leader of the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (FAR).

Cholera is endemic in Sudan, but outbreaks have become more frequent since the outbreak of the conflict, which devastated already fragile sanitation and health infrastructure.

FAR launched drone attacks across Khartoum this month, including three power plants, before being driven from their last positions in the capital last week.

The bombings brought down the electricity network and, in the process, the water network, forcing residents to use unsafe water, said Doctors Without Borders.

Cholera, an acute diarrheal disease caused by ingesting contaminated water or food, can kill within hours if left untreated. However, it is easily preventable and treatable when clean water, sanitation and medical care are available.

The war in Sudan, also ravaged by famine, has already killed tens of thousands of people and displaced 13 million.