Kala-azar disease kills 27 people in Unity state ArticleComments (0). Email PrintSave --------------------------------------------------------------------------------
By Bonifacio Taban Kuich November 29, 2011 (BENTIU) - Unity state’s health ministry said Friday that an outbreak of Kala-azar disease had killed 27 people in Koch and Mayiandit counties. A MSF doctor examines a kid, who suffers from kala azar, in Malakal Upper Nile (photo MSF) Health officials say that the disease spread from neighbouring Jonglei state, which had an outbreak in January. Koch county’s Leer Hospital - the only health centre in the state that can treat the disease - has diagnosed over 100 cases officials told Sudan Tribune. Dr. Manong Thot Teny director general of ministry of health in Unity state said that cases were on the rise, particularly in Koch county. The state ministry of health and the World Health Organization have come to an agreement to train staffs at Koch County Hospital to investigate and treat the disease, which is spread by the bite of female sand flies. "There is a need of establishment centre in Koch, but they had some challenges that Koch Hospital is very small, and at the end we are still need some support,” said Thot. The health ministry director said that Medicine Sans Froniter (MSF) is the only organisation that clinics treating cases of Kala-Azar in Leer County. He said that they needed support from other organisations to fight the disease, which causes diarrhea, fever, general body weakness and swelling of some internal organs. If left untreated, the disease kills around 95% of people who have been infected. Thot said, they are planning to open a centre in Koch county, as the health centre there was too small to cope with the number of patients. Unity states health facilities have attracted patients from Jonglei state. MSF Holland visited Koch County on Tuesday with state health ministry staffs and found that the high rate of detection indicated that civilians were at an increased risk. Health authorities in Unity state are urging citizens to use mosquito nets as a way to minimize the risk of contracting the disease. The Kala azar or Leishmaniasis is a parasitic disease transmitted through sand fly bites which breed in forest areas, caves, or the burrows of small rodents. It can cause death by attacking a person’s internal organs and bone marrow and has a mortality rate of 95 per cent if it is not treated. The United Nations World Health Organization (WHO) reported that October that the Kala azar killed some 720 people in South Sudan. However, UN officials stress that the real number of victims can be higher than reported. WHO spokesperson Tarik Jasarevic said that more than 18,000 cases of the disease have been recorded in South Sudan since the outbreak emerged in September 2009. Children are the first victims, she underscored. (ST) -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "South Sudan Info - The Kob" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/SouthSudanKob?hl=en.
