An investigation has recently been launched in South Sudan following the death of almost 100 individuals from a mystery disease.
A report from the Daily Star specified that South Sudan's Ministry of Health reported approximately 89 deaths from an unidentified disease. In connection to this, the country has recently been struck by severe flooding, which contributes to the health crisis.
To identify the unexplained disease that has caused the death of many thus far, the World Health Organization has sent a task force to the country.
A quick response team of scientists has been sent to the northern part of Fangak in Jonglei State to retrieve specimens from those who had turned ill.
However, local health officials in the town said the initial specimens from those who are ill, had returned negative for choler, a BBC report specified.
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It has been reported that severe floods have boosted the transmission of diseases like malaria in Unity’s bordering state.
Severe Flood Boosted Spread of the Disease
The WHO's Sheila Baya said they decided to send a quick response team to go and carry out a risk assessment and investigation. That, she added, is when they will be able to collect specimens from the sick individuals, although provisionally, the numbers the health organization received was that "there were 89 deaths."
The WHO representative continued saying, the team of scientists needed to travel by helicopter to reach Fangak because of severe flooding in the place. She also explained that the group needed to wait for transport to take them back to capital Juba on Wednesday.
It has been reported that severe floods have boosted the transmission of diseases like malaria in Unity's bordering state.
The state's minister of land, housing, and public utilities, Lam Tungwar Kueigwong said, the flooding has ignited food shortages, which have resulted in malnutrition among children.
Communities have been cut off from accessing important supplies because of the flooding in the north of South Sudan.
It has been reported further that domestic animals have died due to oil from fields in the region that had polluted the water.
Médecins Sans Frontières, an international charity, believes the floods have now affected health facilities because of the disease caused which have put pressure on them.
Climate Change, A Potential Culprit
According to a spokesperson, they are extremely worried about malnutrition, with severe acute malnutrition levels double the WHO threshold and the number of children admitted to the hospital suffering from malnutrition doubled since the floods' beginning.
Nyatuak Koang, a mother of five children, said that she had been forced to move homes two times because of the floods. She also said her family does not have anywhere to sleep.
She also said they do not have any mosquito net, and they do not have material for their house to be covered.
UNHCR, a UN refugee agency, has blamed climate change for the catastrophic flooding and said more than 700,000 people had been affected by the worst flooding in the country for nearly six decades already.
Report about the mysterious disease is shown on Analysis TV's YouTube video below:
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