A child receives oral cholera vaccine in South Sudan. Photo: Ella Glass, Courtesy of Medair (2017)

Health authorities in Renk County in Upper Nile State report that all 59 cholera patients have been successfully treated and discharged from Renk Civil Hospital, with no fatalities recorded.

Renk Health Director Dr. Ayuel Deng said following the outbreak, proactive measures were taken to curb the spread of the disease and protect returnees and the local population.

Deng said health workers responded swiftly by establishing isolation wards for cholera patients at Renk Civil Hospital and the Wunthou border between Renk and Sudan.

According to him, most of the cases were detected among returnees and refugees who fled the conflict in Sudan, while only seven cases were recorded among the host community.

Speaking on state-owned television SSBC on Sunday, Deng assured that there were no deaths confirmed among the patients.

“We are currently on high alert and have opened an isolation ward for cholera cases in Renk Civil Hospital as well as another ward at the Wanthou border point between Renk and Sudan,” he said.

“Most of the 59 cases that were recorded were returnees and refugees from the war in Sudan. There are 7 cases from the host community and they have all been discharged from the hospital. There are no deaths among them.”

Cholera is a deadly disease transmitted through the ingestion of contaminated food or water, leaving patients with severe acute watery diarrhoea and it can kill within hours if left untreated, according to WHO.

Most people infected with V. cholerae do not develop any symptoms, although the bacteria are present in their faeces for 1–10 days after infection and are shed back into the environment, potentially infecting other people.

Among people who develop symptoms, the majority have mild or moderate symptoms and a minority of patients develop acute watery diarrhoea with severe dehydration.

On the 28th of October, the Ministry of Health officially declared a cholera outbreak in Renk County, after the National Public Health Laboratory in Juba confirmed several suspected cases.

Health Minister Yolanda Awel Deng announced an October 8 report from Wunthou Primary Health Care Center that initially indicated possible cholera cases.

By October 11, a total of 33 suspected cases had been reported in Renk County, with six confirmed as positive.

The Laboratory data highlighted that 47% of the cases involve males and 53% females, with those aged 15 and older being the most affected group.

With the support of WHO, the Ministry reactivated a cholera taskforce to coordinate all response interventions, heighten surveillance, and partner coordination.