Sudan’s underfunded healthcare worsens dengue fever spread

East Africa News

Dengue fever has spread into Sudan’s capital for the first time as the country tackles its widest ever outbreak of the disease exacerbated by an underfunded health system, officials say.

According to Sudan’s health ministry report released this week, at least 45 people have died out of at least 2,576 cases recorded since July last year in 12 of the country’s 18 states.

Dengue fever symptoms include fever, muscle pain, nausea and rashes. However, it tends to be more severe and sometimes fatal on repeat infection, making its containment a long-term concern.

“What we see in the health facilities is the severe cases of dengue, which means that what we are seeing is just the tip of the iceberg,” Dr Nima Abed, World Health Organization (WHO) representative in Sudan said.

“Most people do not go to the doctor because the symptoms are not severe enough or they don’t realize they have dengue fever,” he added.

Dengue fever is carried by a species of mosquito that thrives in domestic settings, laying eggs in pools of water in and around homes, making areas without running water particularly vulnerable and monitoring of breeding sites labuor-intensive.