Darfur: Diptheria epidemic kills 16

[Ronan Kelly]

One more falls prey to bacterial disease
ATUESHA (
28 Nov .) -
The death toll from the epidemic in North Darfur rises to 16

Another civilian died on Monday as a result of the fatal bacterial epidemic in North Darfur?s Eiyal Amin area of Atuesha locality in North Darfur.

Radio Dabanga reported on Friday about the deadly disease which causes high fever and inflammation in the throat. Children are especially vulnerable to this fast-spreading epidemic.

The state health ministry announced the closure of all schools and markets in the region due to the rising number of victims.

Mohammed Mahjoub Karam Alla, the North Darfur?s health minister, said that five new cases had emerged within the city of Atuesha. ?95 patients are now being held in the hospital and suspected with the infection,? he said.

The health minister has sent a team of 25 doctors from various branches of medicine to assess the situation in Atuesha locality and the surrounding villages in east Darfur.


Unknown illness grips South Darfur

An unknown illness has infected a number of citizens in South Darfur?s Bahr al Arab locality, Abdul Issa Rileyu, commissioner of the area, said on Monday.

Though Rileyu did not disclose the exact number of infected patients, he said that the disease was causing swelling and inflammation in the limbs of the affected. ?The disease is spreading quickly. A medical team should be sent to the area to diagnose the unknown disease ? to check whether it is elephantiasis or something else,? he said.

http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/21516

 

[Ronan Kelly]

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

Earlier report:

Health scare in North Darfur
EL FAHSER (
25 Nov .) -
15 succumb to deadly bacterial disease in Eiyal Amin; 37 TB cases reported in El Fasher camps

15 people have died in North Darfur's Eiyal Amin area in Atuesha locality as a result of a high-risk bacterial disease, the state's health ministry announced on Friday.

The North Darfur health minister retired General Mohammed Mahajoub Karam Alla said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that a medical team sent by the health ministry reported a high-risk bacterial disease in the region. ?The disease involves high fever and inflammation in the throat. It's fast-spreading, especially among children,? he said.

He pointed out that there had been nine registered cases of the disease and said that they would introduce a vaccination drive for the citizens. ?We will shut down schools if necessary to contain the disease. The disease has spread because of no vaccination since the beginning of the conflict in Darfur in 2003,? Karam Allah said.

He added that a number of teams have been sent to the area to conduct examinations and provide treatment to patients.

TB in El Fasher camps

On the other hand, an anti-tuberculosis medical team from the federal ministry of health revealed the existence of tuberculosis in Zamzam, Abushok and Asalam refugee camps of North Darfur.

Karam Allah said in an interview with Radio Dabanga that the team had detected the presence of 37 cases of tuberculosis in those camps, including 17 cases in Zamzam, 15 in Abushok and five in Asalam camp.

http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/21397

 

[alert]

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

One more falls prey to bacterial disease
ATUESHA (
28 Nov .) -
The death toll from the epidemic in North Darfur rises to 16

Another civilian died on Monday as a result of the fatal bacterial epidemic in North Darfur’s Eiyal Amin area of Atuesha locality in North Darfur.

Radio Dabanga reported on Friday about the deadly disease which causes high fever and inflammation in the throat. Children are especially vulnerable to this fast-spreading epidemic.

The state health ministry announced the closure of all schools and markets in the region due to the rising number of victims.

Mohammed Mahjoub Karam Alla, the North Darfur’s health minister, said that five new cases had emerged within the city of Atuesha. “95 patients are now being held in the hospital and suspected with the infection,” he said.

The health minister has sent a team of 25 doctors from various branches of medicine to assess the situation in Atuesha locality and the surrounding villages in east Darfur.


Unknown illness grips South Darfur

An unknown illness has infected a number of citizens in South Darfur’s Bahr al Arab locality, Abdul Issa Rileyu, commissioner of the area, said on Monday.

Though Rileyu did not disclose the exact number of infected patients, he said that the disease was causing swelling and inflammation in the limbs of the affected. “The disease is spreading quickly. A medical team should be sent to the area to diagnose the unknown disease – to check whether it is elephantiasis or something else,” he said.

http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/21516

Nice find RoRo. There are actually two outbreaks in this post. An unidentified, but apparently known bacterial disease in North Darfur with about 100 cases and 16 deaths, with symptoms of fever and inflammation in the throat, and an unknown one in South Darfur suspected as elephantiasis.

Puzzlingly, the second article speaks of nine "registered" (confirmed?) cases of the first disease and mentions a vaccination drive to fight it.

 

[JimO]

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

A CFR of 16 is pretty darn high. It doesn't sound like a life-threatening illness, unless other more severe symptoms are not mentioned. There is no pneumonia symptoms mentioned and it doesn't sound like meningitis.

Nice find RoRo. There are actually two outbreaks in this post. An unidentified, but apparently known bacterial disease in North Darfur with about 100 cases and 16 deaths, with symptoms of fever and inflammation in the throat, and an unknown one in South Darfur suspected as elephantiasis.

Puzzlingly, the second article speaks of nine "registered" (confirmed?) cases of the first disease and mentions a vaccination drive to fight it.

 

[alert]

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

Re: Darfur: Epidemic kills 16

If you change throat to neck, it might sound like meningitis.

I think the most likely diagnosis given what has been reported about children, bacteria, and vaccination, as well as the symptoms reported is diptheria:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Diptheria

The Wikipedia article indicates that without treatment the CFR can be up to 50%, and even with treatment can be 20%.

 

[alert]

Re: Darfur: Diptheria epidemic kills 16

Looks like the above guess was correct...

http://www.radiodabanga.org/node/22005

213 taken ill by diphtheria
ATUESHA (10 Dec .) -
Bacterial epidemic spreads to neighboring areas of North Darfur?s Tawaisha locality

The epidemic bacterial diphtheria has spread from North Darfur?s Tawaisha to El-laiet Jar Elnabi County and infected at least 213 people in the regions of Fataha, Elmashrout and Shaq El-lieon, sources told Radio Dabanga on Friday.

Witnesses and medical aid workers said that the disease spread in the region of Elmashrout West of Haskanita where 72 cases of the disease were registered. They also said that a medical team was sent to Elmashrout on Thursday to assess the situation.

Sources stated that the disease had spread to Shaq El-lieon, south of El-laiet, where 43 cases were registered while 65 cases were registered in Elwaqaiba. They also said that seven other cases were registered in the area of Fataha.

Activists from the county called on the ministry of health to send a medical team to the county to investigate the disease and prescribe treatment for it.