Cholera outbreak in South Sudan kills 23 and infects hundreds

Aid workers are fighting an outbreak of cholera in South Sudan which has killed 23 people and infected at least 670 and is now threatening to spread rapidly across the war-torn country.

So far all the confirmed cases are confined to the capital Juba where tens of thousands of people have sought refuge at UN refugee camps following five-and-a half months of ethnic violence and civil war. But the U.N. believes the disease is spreading with unconfirmed cases reported in other parts of the impoverished country including in Jonglei, Lakes and Upper Nile states.

The often fatal disease is spread though contaminated water and food. Two to five days after infection it causes severe diarrhea as the body is drained of water. To make matters worse, the region is currently experiencing unusually heavy rainfall, which has the potential to exacerbate the spread of the disease and is hampering aid efforts.

In total some 1.3 million people are believed to have been displaced by the civil war with an estimated 4.9 million in need of urgent humanitarian assistance, according to figures from the Christian Aid Charity.