By Chol Makol Riak
The Jonglei state health ministry said the mysterious illness which was reported to have killed dozens of people in Fangak County last year is false.
Fangak County Commissioner Boutros Biel said at least 97 people died of unknown disease in Fangak County in September last year.
Atong Kuol Manyang is the Jonglei state health minister, she said the testing has been made and the results of the test where malarial cases that rose in the area due to flooding.
“The team from WHO went to the ground and got samples to investigate, thereafter the outcome of the sample was malarial cases that were found on upsurge due to flooding and lack of good health facilities in the area,” Atong said.
Atong informed the public that there was no any strength disease that broke out in the area.
She added that the Ministry of Health is doing its part with the partners to protect the people and make sure the people are healthy.
“Not only the ministry of health partners but also the health workers at county level confirmed that there was nothing but malarial cases and that shows that there is no any strength disease in the area,” she added.
The deaths were mostly reported among the elderly and children from the ages of 1 to 14, according to a statement from South Sudan’s Ministry of Health.
Dr. Goegae Worri, the World Health Organization coordinator in Jonglei state said that there was upsurge of malaria in the area.
“Nobody could really identify and it was difficult for the local health workers to clearly come out and say it is malaria, and we had to send multiple teams, the final team that went there and did comprehensive investigation came to us, but they could not verify that 89 people died but they could verify to us that there was upsurge of malaria in the area,” Dr. Goegae said.
Worri says the WHO tested samples from patients living in the infected water supplies appeared to be malaria only.
In December last year, it was reported that at least 89 people mostly underage and old age died of strength disease in new Fangak County of Jonglei state in the period of one month.