'Hundreds killed' as dengue fever outbreak ravages war-torn Sudan
Sudanese doctors' union says hundreds of people have lost their lives due to the outbreak of dengue fever in Sudan, where 80 percent of the hospitals are out of service due to the civil war.
Outbreaks of dengue fever and acute watery diarrhoea have "killed hundreds" in war-torn Sudan, medics have reported, warning of "catastrophic spreads" that could overwhelm the country's decimated health system.
In a statement on Monday, the Sudanese doctors' union warned that the health situation in the southeastern state of Gedaref, on the border with Ethiopia, "is deteriorating at a horrific rate", with thousands infected with dengue fever.
Although Gedaref has been spared the direct effects of the brutal war between the regular army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), it has nonetheless been impacted by mass displacement and other humanitarian crises.
More than five months into the war, 80 percent of the hospitals in Sudan are out of service, according to the United Nations.
'The fragile healthcare system'
Even before the war, the fragile healthcare system struggled to contain the annual disease outbreaks that accompany the country's rainy season starting in June, including malaria - endemic in Sudan - and dengue fever.
This year, with Gedaref hosting upwards of 250,000 internally displaced persons according to the UN, the situation is much worse.
"The hospital's beds are all full, but the cases keep coming in, particularly children," a medical source told AFP from Gedaref Hospital, requesting anonymity out of concern for his safety.
"But the number of those receiving treatment at home are much more than those at the hospital," he said.
Dengue is a mosquito-borne disease that causes high fever, headaches, nausea, vomiting, muscle pain and, in the most serious cases, bleeding that can lead to death.
RSF forces control medical supplies: Health ministry
Medics and the UN have repeatedly warned that the violence in Sudan, combined with the rainy season and devastated infrastructure, would cause disease outbreaks.
More than 1,200 children have died in refugee camps since May, due in part to a measles outbreak, according to the UN refugee agency.
In El Fasher, the capital of North Darfur state, "13 cases of malaria were reported in one week", the health ministry said.
Health crises have compounded the dire humanitarian situation in Sudan, where half of the population of 48 million relies on aid to survive and with six million on the brink of starvation, according to the UN.
The health ministry said on Monday that RSF forces had seized control of the main medical supplies warehouse.
"Medicines and medical equipment amounting to $500M have been lost," ministry spokesperson Haitham Mohamed Ibrahim said, adding that "70 percent of the equipment in specialised centres in Khartoum... has been lost".