Sick person suspected with cholera being carried on a wheelbarrow in Kapoeta North County|Courtesy

At least nine people died and 29 others were hospitalized in Kapoeta North County, Eastern Equatoria State, due to cholera in less than two weeks,  according to the Commissioner.

David Naye said eight of the deaths were recorded last week alone, and another one died early this week.

“Last week alone, we were able to recover around 29 people from cholera, with 8 dead, and this week, we had one of the women who passed away, but still, the cases are still coming and increasing day by day from all corners of Kapoeta North County,” he told Eye Radio via phone on Wednesday.

The commissioner said health authorities at the national and state levels have deployed a response team to handle the cases.

Despite the intervention, the commissioner said the outbreak has continued to rise, especially among the remote communities.

“We are discharging many people who have recovered, but still more are coming from the community side. So, we send the teams now to carry on the sensitization so that the people understand the danger of this disease.

Naye says local health authorities lack the capacity and facilities to bring the outbreak under control, revealing that the whole county has only one ambulance for emergency response.

He said that there is a need to conduct awareness campaigns and sanitation activities to sensitize the communities.

“We in the county here have one ambulance, and you know, when the cases are very many, it can become very difficult to handle, which I believe is the same situation that might be in all of the country.”

Cholera has been raging across the country since September last year.

According to the latest report by the national ministry of health in April, the outbreak has so far killed nearly 919 people and infected 48,726 others.