The authorities of Abyei Special Administrative Area on Tuesday said that 17 cases of measles disease have been recorded at Amethbeek Hospital and Abyei Town Health Center.
According to health officials, the outbreak of measles was confirmed when five samples were sent to the national laboratory in Juba, and the results returned positive.
Dr. Ayom Korchiek, Abyei minister of health and environment, told Radio Tamzuj that the measles outbreak started in the highly populated Ambiet area and spread to Abyei Town.
“The measles [outbreak] is real Abyei area, and Amiet is the source of this health problem, especially all the emergencies,” he stated. “Outbreaks and chronic cases come from there because internally displaced persons (IDPs), returnees, and refugees are in Amiet.”
Dr. Korchiek said health centers are scarce in the epicenter of the outbreak despite the government and NGOs’ joint efforts to provide health services to the inhabitants.
“We have only one health center in the Ambiet area, which is supported by Save the Children and GOAL in terms of drugs, but the Water, Hygiene and Sanitation (WASH) activities are very poor because people defecate openly, and this creates health problems,” he explained. “We first recorded 11 cases of measles last week, and this week, one patient died. When I sent a team to investigate, they found 17 cases, and the five samples that we sent to the national laboratory were confirmed positive. So, there is an outbreak of measles in the Abyei area.”
The health minister said they had a few vaccines in stock and that he carried out vaccination in Abyei Town while waiting for the national health ministry to dispatch more to cover the population.
He urged Abyei residents to use the available public toilets as the government plans to construct more to avoid water contamination, which he thinks is the cause of water-borne diseases. He also revealed that cases of Hepatitis E have been recorded in every health center.
Meanwhile, Yuohna Akol, the Abyei information minister, lauded the health ministry’s efforts in combating the outbreak with available vaccines.
“We have measles in the Abyei area, which affects children, and other diseases like Hepatitis B and E. I was just informed by the health minister about the cases of measles; however, health cadres and partners are jointly trying their best to control the spread of the disease.”