Current Situation
According to WHO, as of 1 August 2015, a total of 1,411 cholera cases including 42 deaths have been reported in Juba County and in Bor, Jonglei State in the outbreak was declared on 23 June, for an overall case fatality rate (CFR) of 2.98 per cent: o In Juba County, 1,293 cases including 41 deaths (CFR 3.17 per cent) from seven payams, with cases currently in decline. o In Bor, 118 cases including one death (CFR 0.85 per cent) reported from Malou in Makuach payam and the rest from other areas around Bor. Cases in Bor are consistent with declining community transmission.
Case fatality rates have decreased from ten per cent at the initial declaration of outbreak to less than three per cent as of 1 August, however, this remains well above the emergency threshold of one per cent. Continued behaviour change communication efforts are required to ensure immediate health-seeking behaviour. Cholera remains particularly deadly for young children. Twenty-one per cent of deaths have been children under 5.
So far all alerts outside of Juba and Bor have tested negative, though preventative activities continue in high risk areas, especially areas along the Nile and in crowded Protection of Civilian (PoC) sites such as Bentiu PoC.
In addition to mass displacement caused by on-going fighting, the cholera outbreak is closely tied to the current economic crisis. An increase of 50 – 200 per cent in the cost of water has reduced the level of safe water available leading to poor sanitation and hygiene practices and making the communities more vulnerable to the spread of waterborne diseases such as cholera.