![One of the infected patients taking his medication is lying on the floor (dust) as the facility ward is filled up. [Photo: Sudan Post]](https://i0.wp.com/www.sudanspost.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/12/Pic.jpg?resize=1020%2C456&quality=89&ssl=1)
The outbreak has spread to three counties previously unaffected – Awerial, Yirol East and Yirol West, said Dr. Maker Malok, director general at the state’s health ministry.
“We sent 56 samples collected from victims in the three counties of greater Yirol to Juba for confirmation, and nine were confirmed cholera positive,” he told Sudans Post.
Response teams have been deployed with support from the World Health Organization (WHO), Malok added.
He said officials are working to educate people about water safety and hygiene practices, but that calls for better hygiene were not being heeded, leading to more cases.
Nine people have died in Lakes State since the outbreak was detected in December, he said. 1
Lakes State is among seven states affected by cholera since the outbreak was declared in October 2024, according to the WHO.
Across South Sudan, cholera has killed 475 people and affected 24,418 in 33 counties, according to the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA).
The country is currently administering over 1 million cholera vaccines donated by the Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI) in four high-risk areas: Juba, Malakal, Renk and Rubkona.
