1,500 cholera cases reported in South Sudan

United Nations, June 10: The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) has confirmed a total of 1, 459

cases, including 31 deaths, in South

by Saturday.

"The outbreak is spreading to Yei and Kajo Keji in Central Equatoria State," Xinhua quoted UN spokesperson Stephane Dujarric as saying at a daily briefing Monday.

The World Health Organization (WHO) reported that seven cases have been confirmed in the Juba Protection of Civilians areas as of Sunday, with additional suspected cases under investigation.

Since the outbreak of cholera in the capital Juba in mid-May, the reported cholera caseload has doubled every day, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF) said. After the first case was confirmed in Juba May 15, more than 130 additional cases were treated, according to UNICEF.

Since January, UNICEF has warned of the threat of cholera, due to the desperate overcrowding of camps following continued violence, and now the rainy season. Last month, UNICEF said that unless nutrition treatment is scaled up immediately, up to 50,000 children under the age of five are likely to die.

In response to the cholera outbreak, UNICEF helped establish a Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) at the Juba Teaching Hospital. It also provided life-saving supplies, including medicines, protective gear and equipment, and is expanding preventive measures to halt further spread across the country.

However, UNICEF in South Sudan urgently needs $10 million so as to continue current life-saving operations and increase its cholera prevention work.

IANS