UN
United Nations Peacekeeping
24 Nov
2009
Kala azar breaks out in Malakal
An outbreak of the tropical disease kala azar, which has led to 16 reported deaths thus far, has been confirmed by medical authorities in Southern Sudan.
Malakal Teaching Hospital Medical Director Dr. Tut Gony Yemon told the UNMIS Public Information Office that 156 patients from various locations in Upper Nile and Jonglei states had been admitted to the hospital for treatment since last September.
In addition to the deaths, another 60 patients suffering from the disease have been discharged from the hospital and will require outpatient treatment to avoid a recurrence of it.
Most of the patients have been children. Dr. Yemon expects the overall number of cases to increase in the next six months.
The disease is contracted through the bite of a sandfly that carries a parasite which multiplies inside the body and attacks the immune system.
"The symptoms are close to malaria, so most people think they got malaria until it's finally too late for them to get treatment," he said.
The actual cause of death in some cases is an acute shortage of red blood cells, and a lack of resources is hampering the ability of hospital officials to cure some patients.
"It's very difficult for us to get blood because we don't have a blood bank," said Dr. Yemon. Moreover, frequent electrical power cuts in Malakal make it difficult for hospital staff to refrigerate blood supplies safely for long periods of time.
The World Health Organization is providing medicine to the teaching hospital for treating kala azar patients, but the delivery of fresh supplies from Kenya has experienced delays.
The non-governmental organization Medicins Sans Frontieres has sent a team to Akobo County to help Upper Nile State government officials cope with the outbreak there.
Some patients in remote rural areas have been forced to travel long distances to seek medical treatment, and their condition in some instances has seriously deteriorated by the time they arrive in Malakal.
Dr. Yemon hopes that more international medical teams can be dispatched in the coming weeks to areas like Nasir County in Upper Nile State and Khorflus County in neighbouring Jonglei state where cases of kala azar have been reported.
