The death toll from South Sudan’s cholera outbreak has risen to 22, representing a case fatality rate of 2.49 percent, the UN humanitarian agency said on Tuesday.
The UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) said cholera has now been confirmed in three locations in South Sudan: Juba and Terekeka in Central Equatoria and the Duk Islands in Jonglei.
“As of Aug. 6, 883 cholera cases and 22 deaths had been reported, representing a CFR of 2.49 percent,” OCHA said in its report.
According to the UN, Juba has recorded 808 cholera cases and nine deaths (CFR 1.11 per cent), while Terekeka has reported 14 cases and five deaths (CFR 35.71 percent).
Cholera is caused by acute intestinal infection from contaminated food or water. The current outbreak has been attributed to use of untreated water from the River Nile and water tankers, lack of household chlorination of drinking water, eating food from roadside food vendors or makeshift markets and open defecation/poor latrine use.
