Sudan - WHO warns of biological risks after occupation of laboratory in Sudan that has dangerous samples

[Treyfish]

Tuesday April 25, 2023 | 09:26
WHO warns of biological risks after occupation of laboratory in Sudan that has dangerous samples


Posted by Camilo Suazo
The information is from Deutsche Welle

One of the belligerent parties, unidentified, kidnapped the technicians and took possession of an area where there are samples of cholera, measles and poliomyelitis.

The representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sudan , Nima Saeed Abid, warned on Tuesday that there is a "high risk" of a chemical or biological accident in the African country after one of the sides in the conflict seized a laboratory in Khartoum, the Sudanese capital.
The technicians "cannot access the health center to control the situation ," he added.
Through a videoconference, the official explained that on Monday he received a phone call from the "head of the central public health laboratory, which is occupied by one of the belligerent parties."

Nima Saeed Abid did not specify which side took over the laboratory, nor the exact location of it.
“They kidnapped all the technicians from the laboratory which is now completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base,” he added.
In turn, he indicated that the situation is "extremely dangerous" because the laboratory contains samples of the pathogens of measles, cholera and poliomyelitis. This occupation presents a “huge biohazard,” he insisted.

Attacks “must stop”
The situation is dangerous because cholera is an acute diarrheal disease, which can cause death in a matter of hours if left untreated, while measles is a highly contagious viral disease, just like polio. , which greatly affects Measured for children under 5 years of age.
For the last two cases there are vaccines.
The clashes, which broke out in mid-April in Sudan, have already caused 459 deaths and 4,072 injuries. , the WHO also said on Tuesday, although it specified that these were figures from the Sudanese Ministry of Health that the organization had not been able to verify.
The WHO reported that it does have evidence of 14 attacks against the health sector, and called on the parties to cease the attacks against medical centers.

https://www.biobiochile.cl/noticias/...��

[Treyfish]

‘Huge biological risk’ after Sudan fighters occupy lab: WHO

AFP
April 25, 2023 6:16 am
The World Health Organization said Tuesday that fighters in conflict-ravaged Sudan had occupied the national public laboratory holding samples of diseases including polio and measles, creating an “extremely, extremely dangerous” situation.

Fighters “kicked out all the technicians from the lab… which is completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base,” said Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO’s representative in Sudan.

He did not say which of the fighting parties had taken over the laboratory.

Abid said he had received a call from the head of the national laboratory in Khartoum on Monday, a day before a US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan’s warring generals officially came into effect after 10 days of urban combat.

“There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab,” said Abid.

He pointed out that the lab held so-called isolates, or samples, of a range of deadly diseases, including measles, polio and cholera.

The director of the lab had also warned of the danger that “depleting stocks of blood bags risk spoiling due to lack of power,” Abid said.

“In addition to chemical hazards, bio-risk hazards are also very high due to lack of functioning generators,” he said....
https://insiderpaper.com/huge-biolog...��

[Treyfish]

GENEVA, April 25 (Reuters) - There is a "high risk of biological hazard" in Sudan's capital Khartoum after one of the warring parties seized a laboratory holding measles and cholera pathogens and other hazardous materials, the World Health Organization said on Tuesday.

Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Sudan, the WHO's representative in the country, Nima Saeed Abid, said technicians were unable to gain access to the National Public Health Laboratory to secure the materials.

"This is the main concern: no accessibility to the lab technicians to go to the lab and safely contain the biological material and substances available," he said, declining to specify which side had seized the facility....
The clashes have paralysed hospitals and other essential services, and left many stranded in their homes with dwindling supplies of food and water. The WHO has reported 14 attacks on health facilities since the clashes began and is relocating its staff to safety.....

Abid said he was transferred from Khartoum to Port Sudan on Monday as part of a large convoy that drove for 30 hours through the desert.....https://www.reuters.com/world/africa...��

[Treyfish]

Situation in Sudan: Information for U.S. Citizens in Sudan

Situation in Sudan
April 25, 2023
Information for U.S. Citizens in Sudan


U.S. citizens in Sudan - On April 22, 2023, the U.S. Embassy in Khartoum suspended its operations (to include visa, passport and other routine consular services) until further notice.

To inform U.S. citizens of options to leave Sudan as security conditions permit, we need to know your information. If you are a U.S. citizen in Sudan, please fill out the following crisis intake form. (There is no need to submit this information again if you have already submitted information concerning yourself or a U.S. citizen family member to U.S. Embassy Khartoum). U.S. citizens seeking to depart Sudan can also call 1-888-407-4747 (in the United States) or +1 202-501-4444 (from overseas) for immediate assistance.....

https://travel.state.gov/content/tra...��

[Treyfish]

Lab seizure amid Sudan fighting poses ‘huge biological risk’

BY BRAD DRESS - 04/25/23 5:15 PM ET

The representative for the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sudan said fighters have seized a national health facility, calling the lab takeover “extremely, extremely dangerous” for the embattled country.

WHO representative Nima Saeed Abid said during a Tuesday press briefing that one of the warring armies in Sudan forcefully kicked out the lab technicians at the National Public Health Laboratory in the capitol of Khartoum, creating a risk of biological contamination.

“Now it is completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base,” Abid said, describing it as a facility housing polio, cholera and measles samples.

“There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the [health lab] by one of the fighting parties,” he added.

Fighting broke out earlier this month between the Sudanese Armed Forces and a paramilitary group called the Rapid Support Forces, engulfing the streets of Khartoum in gunfire and explosions.

Abid did not say which side seized the lab.

Sudan is experiencing a large outbreak of dengue fever and malaria, Abid noted, which makes the military occupation of the health lab all the more dangerous....https://thehill.com/homenews/3971150...��

[Treyfish]

Security Alert: April 25, 2023 at 5:54pm


Home | News & Events | Security Alert: April 25, 2023 at 5:54 pm

The U.S. Embassy in Khartoum suspended its operations (to include visa, passport and other routine consular services) on April 22, 2023.

There are options to depart Sudan, but you must decide the safest and best method of departure for yourself and your family. We cannot guarantee your safety in movement. Even though there have been ceasefire agreements, the duration they hold is unpredictable. The security situation throughout Sudan continues to be violent and unpredictable due to ongoing armed conflict, with active fighting in country and uncertain safety conditions. There have been reports of individuals being robbed including of their U.S. passports. We recommend carefully considering routes and the risks of travel, because roads may be crowded, exposed to combat operations, or have deteriorated infrastructure due to damage to bridges, roads, and facilities. The United States government advises that travel is at your own risk.

We understand border crossings into neighboring countries...https://sd.usembassy.gov/security-alert/

[Treyfish]

....The WHO told the BBC on Tuesday that workers can no longer access the lab.
And it warned that power cuts were making it impossible to properly manage material at the lab.

Officials said that a broad range of biological and chemical materials are stored in the lab. The facility holds measles and cholera pathogens, as well as other hazardous materials.
A lack of power is also putting depleting stocks of blood bags stored at the lab at risk of spoiling.

Where is the lab?
The lab is near the centre of Khartoum and not far from city's main airport.

It lies just outside the area where Sudan's military headquarters are located, and where a lot of the fighting has been taking place.
The particular geography of Khartoum means key strategic sites which are being targeted, such as military buildings, are close to critical infrastructure.
Both the military headquarters and the airport are right next to a residential area, with several schools and hospitals nearby....
https://www.kbc.co.ke/news/internati...��

[Treyfish]

UN warns of risk of diseases amid mass displacement out of Sudan
Issued on: 25/04/2023 - 23:04
By:Georja Calvin-SmithFollow|Laura DI BIASIO

In tonight's edition: The desperate rush to leave Khartoum continues. Sudanese and foreigners take advantage of openings left by a delicate ceasefire to try to get out of the capital. An african child is killed by malaria every 60 seconds, the region suffers, the W.H.O aims to wipe out the disease by 2030. And Conakry celebrates africa, literature and identity and its 72 hour literary festival. video https://www.france24.com/en/tv-shows...t-out-of-sudan

[Treyfish]

video statement about the lab and situation from Nima Saeed Abid,

WHO Sudan official warns UN briefing of ‘huge biological risk’ after fighters occupy public health laboratory

Nima Saeed Abid, Representative of the World Health Organization (WHO) in Sudan, appeared virtually for a United Nations press briefing to warn about a “huge biological risk” after one of the fighting sides occupied a public health. https://www.foxnews.com/video/6326198299112

[Treyfish]

HUGE BIOLOGICAL RISK’ AS SUDAN FIGHTERS OCCUPY LAB: WHO


Posted by Wisconsin Muslim Journal | Apr 25, 2023 | Syndicated
https://wisconsinmuslimjournal.org/h...��

[Treyfish]

Geneva Press Briefing: WHO, UNHCR, IOM, ICRC / IFRC, OHCHR, UNICEF, FAO
Categories
Media / Press Conferences
Production Date
25 Apr 2023
Video Length
01:47:50


Description



SUDAN



WHO (TBC) Dr Nima Saeed Abid (Zoom from Sudan), WHO Representative in Sudan

UNHCR Olga Sarrado (B-128) with Laura lo Castro (Zoom from N'Djamena), UNHCR Representative in Chad and Marie-Hélène Verney (Zoom from Juba), the UNHCR Representative in South Sudan
https://media.un.org/en/asset/k1j/k1j07s5lvp

[Treyfish]

WHO says assessing risk after fighters seize Sudan lab
Last Updated: 26 Apr 2023 - 05:56 pm
Geneva: The World Health Organization said Wednesday it was assessing the threats to public health after fighters in Sudan occupied a national laboratory holding samples of a range of deadly diseases.

"The team on the ground, and with our bio-risk and biosafety teams here, are carrying out an extensive risk assessment," WHO emergencies director Michael Ryan told reporters, ....https://thepeninsulaqatar.com/articl...eize-sudan-lab

[Treyfish]

...The U.N. health body was carrying out a risk assessment to determine whether the seizure of a laboratory in Khartoum housing pathogens represented a risk to public health.
"When lab workers are forced to leave a laboratory and untrained people enter that laboratory, there are always risks, but the risks are primarily to those individuals first and foremost to accidentally expose themselves to the pathogens," said Mike Ryan, head of WHO's health emergencies programme...https://www.reuters.com/world/africa...��

[alert]

The only three pathogens cited as explicitly in the seized lab are measles, polio, and cholera. Neither measles nor cholera would pose much of a global hazard, as both are currently circulating worldwide and in similar strains to what you might find in a lab.

Polio might represent a wider risk, particularly if non-circulating strains were found in that lab. Most of the world has eliminated the virus completely, and only certain strains are still circulating in certain places. The release of something that is not currently circulating in Africa (WPV1, for example), or worse yet, something that has been eliminated worldwide (WPV2, for example) could be a catastrophic setback for the global polio eradication initiative.

[Pathfinder]

WHO Director-General's opening remarks at the media briefing – 26 April 2023

26 April 2023

...

First to Sudan.

The bloodshed we have seen over the past 10 days in Sudan is heartbreaking, in a country whose people have already suffered so much in recent years.

WHO welcomes the ceasefire agreed between the parties. We urge all parties to fully respect it.

Already, the violence has taken a terrible toll on health.

On top of the number of deaths and injuries caused by the conflict itself, WHO expects there will be many more deaths due to outbreaks, lack of access to food and water, and disruptions to essential health services, including immunization.

WHO estimates that one quarter of the lives lost so far could have been saved with access to basic haemorrhage control. But paramedics, nurses and doctors are unable to access injured civilians, and civilians are unable to access services.

In the capital Khartoum, 61% of health facilities are closed, and only 16% are operating as normal.

Many patients with chronic diseases, like kidney disease, diabetes and cancer, are unable to access the health facilities or medicines they need.

In the coming weeks, an estimated 24,000 women will give birth, but they are currently unable to access maternal care.

Vector control programmes to prevent transmission of dengue and malaria have had to stop;

The risk of diarrhoeal diseases is high as the water supply is disrupted and people are drinking river water to survive;

With nutrition programmes suspended, 50,000 children are at real risk;

And the movement of civilians seeking safety threatens the fragile health system throughout the country.

Since the conflict began, WHO has verified 16 attacks on health, causing 8 deaths.

WHO is also concerned about the occupation of the central public health laboratory by one of the parties in the conflict.

Technicians no longer have access to the laboratory, which means the lab is no longer able to perform its normal diagnostic and reference function.

We are also concerned that those occupying the lab could be accidentally exposed to pathogens stored there.

WHO is seeking more information and conducting a risk assessment.

Power cuts are also threatening to make the few remaining stocks of blood stored in the Central Blood Bank unusable.

WHO staff are risking their lives to support the urgent health needs.

We are relocating our staff and their dependents to safety, but we are making plans to continue our operations to the best of our ability.

WHO has stocks of essential medicines, blood bags, supplies for surgery and trauma care waiting for delivery. But we need safe access to do that.

As always, the best medicine in this situation is peace.

===

https://www.who.int/news-room/speeches/item/who-director-general-s-opening-remarks-at-the-media-briefing---26-april-2023