Flooded areas around Pibor in 2019 | Credit | MSF

Health authorities in Pibor Administrative Area have raised an alarm over the possible outbreak of diseases due to persistent rainfall and flood.

The area minister of health says the health facilities there have also run shortage of essential drug supplies.

Some of the affected counties in the area include, Pochalla and parts of Pibor town.

“The water level is now increasing…and so we are expecting outbreak of water-borne diseases like cholera and malaria because of contamination,” Ashon John told Eye Radio on Monday.

Experts believe that floods potentially increases the transmission of communicable diseases.

This include water-borne diseases such as typhoid fever, cholera, as well as vector-borne diseases like malaria, haemorrhagic fever, yellow fever among others.

Flood occurs when water from a river, lake or an ocean overflows onto the land around it.

Every year, South Sudan experiences torrential rains and seasonal flooding, including disaster displacements.

The UN says an estimated 380,000 people have been affected by flooding in six states since May, with Jonglei and Unity the most affected.