FILE PHOTO: Arial view of Akobo County in Jonglei State. (Photo: Charles Wote/EyeRadio).

Health Authorities in Akobo County of Jonglei state have reported about 12 cases including two deaths from suspected cholera outbreak in the area.

Dr. Nyoun Koang who is the medical director of Akobo hospital told Eye Radio the cases were first  report on Tuesday from Tiergul-Akobo, in Gambela region of Ethiopia where two deaths occurred.

Dr. Koang said the patients are suffering from acute watery diarrhea and vomiting among other symptoms suspected to be of cholera, but is yet to be confirmed.

“ We received nine cases of suspected active watery diarrhea from Tiergul-Akobo in eastern Bank of the Kibor River, and of the cases, two passed on , one passed on the side and the other one passed inside the hospital.

“For now, we have seven cases inside the hospital, and another report from the side  is that there are three cases there. So they are on the way to transport them to here,” he said.

Koang said the cased prompted the authorities to open a center to respond to the unconfirmed outbreak.

Meanwhile, health worker at Tiergul-Akobo, Simon Tut attributed the outbreak of yet-to-be confirmed outbreak to contaminated water from the river.

According to Tut, the locals have been taking water directly from the river without being treated.

“We think about this situation is because those of the Tiergul-Akobo are just drinking water in the river and is purified.”

South Sudan has recorded tens of thousand of cholera cases across the country since the outbreak in September when the first case detected among the Sudanese refugees in Renk County in Upper Niles state.

The cases continue to surge despite mass cholera vaccination and awareness about the outbreak.