Health workers in Fashoda County in South Sudan’s Upper Nile State say four people have died of cholera and about 100 people have been affected by the disease.

Dr. Dak Nyang, a medical assistant in Kodok Payam Hospital, told Radio Tamazuj on Wednesday that the four fatalities and the 100 cholera cases were from Lol area only last week.

The physician also expressed concern about the spread of the outbreak to the neighboring areas in Upper Nile if not contained as soon as possible.

“The cholera has broken out where there is an acute shortage of medical services. Last week four children died of cholera,” he explained.

He said Doctors Without Borders and the International Committee of Red Cross are currently working to provide treatment.

Nyang said more interventions are needed by aid organizations and government authorities in order to contain the outbreak.

Locals in those areas normally fetch drinking water directly from rivers, which Nyang said was a health concern.

A total of 2,916 cholera cases with 67 deaths have been reported in South Sudan as of 6 July, according to the United Nations.

File photo: Refugees in Kodok 

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