Cholera in Juba: "I Hope My Son Will Get Better"

Nick Owen/MSF

 

Cholera is now increasingly affecting many people and killing children, especially. When my child started vomiting and had diarrhea, I suspected it to be cholera. I had to tell my husband immediately to rush us to the nearest cholera hospital in Gudele, run by MSF. When I arrived here this morning, we were directed to the observation room to register. My son was very weak. He was put on a drip and given oral rehydration solution. I hope my son will get better. It is the first time my child has been affected by and treated for cholera. My other three children are all fine. At home we eat normal food and drink usual water; I do not understand how my child got cholera.’’

Kiden Margaret's baby, John, started showing signs of cholera – an upset stomach, vomiting, crying, and not wanting to eat, at 4am on Friday morning.  His parents brought him to the cholera treatment center (CTC) in the Gudele 2 neighborhood of Juba, where he is now being treated. There has been a slight improvement in his condition, but the two-year-old is still vomiting, has diarrhea, and is visibly distressed. 

Kiden Margaret, 31, is the mother of two-year-old John Mukaya. "When I arrived this morning, we were directed to the observation room to register. My son was very weak, now we are here and he is put on drip and given oral rehydration solutions. I hope my son will get better." Since the South Sudanese Ministry of Health declared a cholera outbreak in Juba, the countryÕs capital, on 15 May 2014, more than 1,306 patients have been treated for the disease, and 29 people have died as at 05 June 2014. MSF has set up a CTC in the district of Gudele 2, and two smaller CTCs in the two IDP camps in UN bases. There are several MSF Oral Rehydration points close to the affected areas of Juba, and support id provided to the MoH in the Juba Teaching Hospital.
Nick Owen/MSF