59 dead as cholera spreads to Juba - ICRC

An outbreak of cholera in the southern Sudanese city of Juba has claimed the lives of 59 people since the first case was reported there two weeks ago, the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said on Tuesday.

The ICRC said in a statement that it was airlifting 30 tonnes of emergency medical supplies from Kenya to Juba to treat those infected. More than a thousand cases of cholera have been reported in Juba, southern Sudan's capital, since 6 February, the agency said.

An outbreak of cholera was first reported in the town of Yei, southwest of Juba, in late January.

The medical supplies transported by air will be used to treat cholera patients at the Juba Teaching Hospital, where some 809 people are admitted.

An ICRC team in Juba had helped the hospital in the management and expansion of an isolation ward and installed an emergency water supply system. Water chrolonation levels had also been increased for the isolation ward and the hospital's septic tank drained.

The agency was also coordinating its efforts with the South Sudan health authorities and liaising with other humanitarian agencies to curb the spread of the disease.