Cholera Kills 58, Sickens 1,300 In Sudan Over Three Days; What Are the Symptoms of the Often-Fatal Bacterial Disease?

Nearly 60 people have been killed and more than 1,300 sickened over the last three days due to an outbreak of cholera in a southern Sudanese city, authorities said. The outbreak in Kosti has been blamed mainly on contaminated drinking water after the central water supply facility was knocked out during an attack by a notorious paramilitary group, the health ministry said.

The ministry said in a statement the disease killed 58 people and sickened 1,293 others between Thursday and Saturday in Kosti, 420 kilometres south of the country's capital, Khartoum.

The ministry said it has also taken a series of measures to fight the outbreak, including launching a vaccination campaign against cholera. “The situation is alarming and is about to get out of control," said Dr. Francis Layoo Ocan, medical coordinator of Doctors Without Borders, in Kosti. “We’ve run out of space, and we are now admitting patients in an open area and treating them on the floor because there are not enough beds.”

According to experts, the White Nile River is the most likely source of infection in the city, as many families have been bringing water from it using donkey carts following a major power outage in the area.

Local authorities have now banned residents from collecting water from the river and reinforced chlorination in the water distribution system.

Cholera had previously killed more than 600 people and rendered 21,000 ill in Sudan between July and October last year - mostly in the country's eastern areas where millions of people displaced by the conflict were located. Another major outbreak in 2017 left at least 700 dead and sickened about 22,000 in less than two months.

Cholera is a bacterial infection in your gut that causes severe, watery diarrhoea. It causes you to quickly lose electrolytes, which are important minerals that help your body work and become dehydrated.

According to doctors, cholera can be fatal if left untreated. It mostly spreads in areas without access to clean water or toileting facilities. But you can also get it from eating raw shellfish. Outbreaks can happen after heavy rainfalls and natural disasters, like earthquakes and hurricanes.

Studies say that throughout history, there have been cholera outbreaks in almost every part of the world. In recent years, most outbreaks have happened in:

• Asia
• Sub-Saharan Africa
• The Caribbean

What causes cholera?

According to experts, the bacteria Vibrio cholerae or V. cholerae cause the deadly infection. V. cholerae live in warm, mildly salty, and brackish water. When you drink water or eat food contaminated with V. cholerae, the bacteria stick to the walls of your small intestine. There, they release toxins that lead to diarrhoea.

Doctors say cholera can spread from person to person indirectly—it does not spread through casual contact, coughing, or sneezing, like many contagious diseases. In areas without running water or ways to sanitise water, infected poop can contaminate water. When people drink water, use it to prepare food, or use it to wash their hands, the infection spreads.

The main symptom of cholera is watery diarrhoea. It is usually grey and slightly cloudy with bits of mucus in it—known as rice water stool. Episodes of diarrhoea can quickly become severe and lead to life-threatening dehydration. Other symptoms include:

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