Sudan’s Ministry of Health has reported that the death toll from the ongoing cholera outbreak has risen to 699, while deaths from dengue fever have reached nine. The ministry confirmed, “Eighty-two new cases of cholera and one death were recorded, bringing the number of cases to 24,604, including 699 deaths.”
While cholera cases have declined in several northern and eastern states—such as Khartoum, River Nile, Northern, Kassala, and Gedaref—the number of cases has risen in other regions, including Al-Jazira in central Sudan and Sennar and White Nile in the south.
In the same update, the ministry reported, “95 new cases of dengue fever were recorded, including four deaths, bringing the number of cases to 2,024, including nine deaths in five of Sudan’s 18 states.”
Though dengue fever has not been formally declared an epidemic, the ministry referred to it as such in its statement. The dengue virus is spread through the bites of infected mosquitoes, causing severe symptoms such as high fever, headache, muscle and joint pain, nausea, and vomiting. In contrast, cholera, which spreads through contaminated water, leads to severe diarrhoea and dehydration and can be fatal within hours if not treated.
These health crises are unfolding amidst the ongoing conflict between the Sudanese Army and the Rapid Support Forces, which has been raging since mid-April 2023. The fighting has claimed around 18,800 lives and displaced nearly 10 million people, according to UN figures.
International organisations and the UN have increasingly called for action to avert a humanitarian catastrophe in Sudan, as millions face famine and death due to food shortages resulting from the conflict, now affecting 13 states.
