Ebola like disease has killed at least 10 people and infected 45 others in South Sudan since December. Effects of the disease are similar to Ebola since the symptoms include bleeding, fever, fatigue, headaches and vomiting but tests show that it’s not, leaving medical workers perplexed.
“The lab results are not consistent with the symptoms, and that is what is concerning,” Dr. Rohit Chitale, an epidemiologist with the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, told IRIN in a phone interview.
At least 51 cases of the “undiagnosed hemorrhagic fever syndrome” have been reported in the north-western counties of Aweil North and Aweil West. 469 cases of the disease were reported between August and November 2015, killing 129 people, in the bordering regions in Darfur in neighbouring Sudan according to World Health Organization.
The risk of an epidemic seems low with the disease seeming not result from a virus and may be carried by mosquitoes, ticks or fleas. There is no evidence of person-to-person transmission of the sickness.
“So far, 33 blood samples have been shipped from South Sudan to WHO laboratories in Uganda, Senegal, and South Africa. Five turned up positive for onyong-nyong, three for chikungunya, and one for dengue. Those mosquito-borne viruses, however, do not explain the 10 deaths. All samples tested negative for Ebola and Zika.” Said IRIN’s report
Violent conflict, poor infrastructure creating a lack of easy access to the region and South Sudan’s severely underfunded health system are hampering efforts to solve the mystery of what’s causing the disease.
