More than 1,300 people have been infected with dengue fever; two have died as a result of the latest outbreak in Sudan, the Sudanese Ministry of Health reported on Wednesday.
At the moment, 1,344 cases of the disease have been registered in the country, and two have resulted in the death of the patient, according to Dr Laila Hamad El Nil, Director of the Health Response Department at the Ministry of Health, adding that the largest number of infected are in Umbadda and Karary districts in Sudan's capital Khartoum.
Hamad El Nil added that at least 2,482 suspected cases are currently being examined by the Health Response Department.
She noted that the first cases of dengue fever were recorded in the central state of North Kordofan on November 2, 2022, before spreading to 12 of the country's 18 federal states.
Dengue fever, a viral disease transmitted by mosquitoes, has become a growing concern in many parts of the world. Although it is commonly linked to tropical regions in Southeast Asia and Latin America, Africa is also experiencing an uptick in reported cases.
With no cure or vaccine available, the spread of dengue fever in Africa poses a significant threat to public health. According to the Africa Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (Africa CDC), an agency of the African Union, over the past few years, the major outbreaks of the viral disease in the African continent took place in Burkina Faso, Cote d'Ivoire, Burkina Faso, Egypt, and Cape Verde.
The most serve outbreaks of dengue fever took place in Cape Verde, with over 16,000 cases registered in 2009, and Burkina Faso, where at least 9,029 had fallen ill with the fever in 2017.