2023 Sudanese tuberculosis outbreak

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2023 Sudanese tuberculosis outbreak (during the 2023 Sudan conflict )
Disease Tuberculosis
Location Sudan
First outbreakKhartoum (most likely)
DateMay 2023 – present
Confirmed casesSeveral thousand as of 8 May 2023, numbers could be higher than 10,000
Deaths
Hundreds of people dead, according to the UN

An ongoing outbreak of tuberculosis, an infectious disease commonly known as "TB", was confirmed in Sudan in May 2023. [1]

Contents

Sudan, along with over 34,000 cases in Ukraine, reported a huge surge in tuberculosis cases which had decreased significantly for the past few years. [2] [3]

Tuberculosis

Tuberculosis is spread from one person to the next through the air when people who have active TB in their lungs cough, spit, speak, or sneeze. [4] [5] People with Latent TB do not spread the disease. [4] Active infection occurs more often in people with HIV/AIDS and in those who smoke. [4] Diagnosis of active TB is based on chest X-rays, as well as microscopic examination and culture of body fluids. [6] Diagnosis of latent TB relies on the tuberculin skin test (TST) or blood tests. [6]

Prevention of TB involves screening those at high risk, early detection and treatment of cases, and vaccination with the bacillus Calmette–Guérin (BCG) vaccine. [7] [8] [9] Those at high risk include household, workplace, and social contacts of people with active TB. [8] Treatment requires the use of multiple antibiotics over a long period of time. [4] Antibiotic resistance is a growing problem, with increasing rates of multiple drug-resistant tuberculosis (MDR-TB). [4]

Outbreak

War

In the early hours of the morning of 15 April 2023, the RSF started a series of assaults on key buildings in Khartoum, primarily the Khartoum International Airport. During their attack on the airport, the RSF reportedly attacked a Saudi plane which was arriving at the airport, but no casualties have been reported among the passengers and crew. The armed forces and the insurgents were engaged in fierce fighting. [10] [11] The RSF also captured the presidential palace, the residence of the former Sudanese president Omar al-Bashir, and attacked a military base. [12] [13] Users on Facebook Live and Twitter documented the Sudanese Air Force flying above the city, and striking the RSF targets. [14]

Emergency

On 8 May 2023, the UN announced a significant outbreak of tuberculosis in Sudan and Ukraine. It said that the disease was killing an estimated 4,400 people per day including 700 children. It confirmed at least 34,000 cases in Ukraine and a huge but unspecified amount in Sudan. [3]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Khartoum</span> Capital of Sudan

Khartoum or Khartum is the capital of Sudan. With a population of 6,344,348, Khartoum's metropolitan area is the largest in Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuberculosis</span> Infectious disease

Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by Mycobacterium tuberculosis (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in which case it is known as latent tuberculosis. Around 10% of latent infections progress to active disease which, if left untreated, kill about half of those affected. Typical symptoms of active TB are chronic cough with blood-containing mucus, fever, night sweats, and weight loss. It was historically referred to as consumption due to the weight loss associated with the disease. Infection of other organs can cause a wide range of symptoms.

The Janjaweed are a Sudanese Arab militia group that operates in Sudan, particularly in Darfur, and eastern Chad. They have also been speculated to be active in Yemen. According to the United Nations definition, Janjaweed membership consists of Sudanese Arab tribes, the core of whom are from the Abbala Arabs, traditionally employed in camel herding, with significant recruitment from the Baggara, who are traditionally employed in cattle herding.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Geneina</span> City in West Darfur, Sudan

Geneina is a city in West Darfur, part of the dar Masalit region, in Sudan. It joined British Sudan at the end of 1919 through the Gilani agreement, signed between the Masalit Sultanate and the United Kingdom, according to which it became a territory.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Rapid Support Forces</span> Paramilitary unit formed in 2013

The Rapid Support Forces are paramilitary forces formerly operated by the Government of Sudan. It grew out of, and is primarily composed of, the Janjaweed militias which fought on behalf of the Sudanese government during the War in Darfur, and was responsible for atrocities against civilians. Its actions in Darfur qualify as crimes against humanity according to Human Rights Watch.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Hemedti</span> Sudanese military officer, former warlord and Janjaweed mercenary

Mohamed Hamdan Dagalo, generally referred to mononymously as Hemedti, Hemetti, Hemeti, or Hemitte, is a Janjaweed leader from the Rizeigat tribe in Darfur, who was the Deputy head of the Transitional Military Council (TMC) following the 2019 Sudanese coup d'état. Since 2013, Hemetti has commanded the Rapid Support Forces (RSF). He was considered by The Economist to be the most powerful person in Sudan as of early July 2019.

The following lists events during 2023 in the Republic of the Sudan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">War in Sudan (2023)</span> Ongoing military conflict in Sudan

A war between the Sudanese Armed Forces (SAF) and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), rival factions of the military government of Sudan, began on 15 April 2023, with the fighting concentrated around the capital city of Khartoum and the Darfur region. As of 15 August 2023, between 4,000 and 10,000 people had been killed and 6,000 to 12,000 others injured, while as of 12 September 2023, over 4.1 million were internally displaced and more than 1.1 million others had fled the country as refugees.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of Khartoum (2023)</span> Battle during the 2023 Sudan conflict

The battle of Khartoum is an ongoing battle for control of Khartoum State between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudanese Armed Forces. The battle began on 15 April 2023, after the RSF captured Khartoum International Airport, several military bases, and the presidential palace, starting an escalating series of clashes.

Operation Kaveri was an operation conducted by the Indian Armed Forces to evacuate Indian citizens and foreign nationals from Sudan during the 2023 Sudan conflict. The evacuation was conducted by air and sea, most likely in Port Sudan where most of the evacuations were done by Indian Navy through INS Sumedha. The operation was conducted for the evacuations of thousands of Indians in Sudan, primarily in Khartoum, the capital of the country.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">2023 Sudanese refugee crisis</span> Ongoing refugee crisis caused by the 2023 Sudan conflict

An ongoing refugee crisis began in Africa in mid-April 2023 after the outbreak of the 2023 Sudan conflict. By September, more than 1.1 million people have fled the country, while more than four million had been internally displaced. These included at least 75,000 migrant returnees and other third-country nationals.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Darfur campaign</span> Ongoing military offensive in Sudan

The Darfur campaign or Darfur offensive is a theatre of operation in the 2023 war in Sudan that affects five states in Darfur: South Darfur, East Darfur, North Darfur, Central Darfur and West Darfur. The offensive mainly started on 15 April 2023 in West Darfur where the RSF forces captured Geneina, the conflict came after several days of high tensions between the forces and the government.

The following is a timeline of the War in Sudan (2023).

The Battle of Merowe was a military engagement of the 2023 Sudan conflict between RSF and SAF for the control of the city of Merowe and it's airport.

The Battle of Nyala is an ongoing battle for control of Nyala, the capital of South Darfur in Sudan, between the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF), and the Sudanese Armed Forces during the ongoing Darfur campaign. The first battle occurred between 15 and 20 April 2023, during which hundreds were reported dead. A civilian-brokered ceasefire paused the fighting by April 20. Sporadic clashes broke out between May and July. In August 2023, the RSF launched an offensive on the city.

The humanitarian crisis following the 2023 Sudan conflict was further exacerbated by the violence occurring during a period of high temperatures, drought and the conflict starting during the latter part of the fasting month of Ramadan. Most residents were unable to venture outside of their homes to obtain food and supplies for fear of getting caught in the crossfire. A doctors' group said that hospitals remained understaffed and were running low on supplies as wounded people streamed in. The World Health Organization recorded around 26 attacks on healthcare facilities, some of which resulted in casualties among medical workers and civilians. The Sudanese Doctors' Union said more than two-thirds of hospitals in conflict areas were out of service with 32 forcibly evacuated by soldiers or caught in the crossfire. The United Nations reported that shortages of basic goods, such as food, water, medicines and fuel have become "extremely acute". The delivery of badly-needed remittances from overseas migrant workers was also halted after Western Union announced it was closing all operations in Sudan until further notice. The World Food Programme said that more than $13 million worth of food aid destined for Sudan had been looted since the fighting broke out. An estimated 25 million people, equivalent to more than half of Sudan’s population, were said to be in need of aid.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Deportation of Eritreans from Sudan during the war in Sudan (2023)</span> Ethnic deportation of Eritreans in the Sudan

The deportation of Eritreans from Sudan is the ongoing forced transfer of nearly an estimated 3,500 Eritreans and Sudanese-Eritreans from Sudan mainly at the border between both countries in the war in Sudan. On 7 May 2023, reports by The Guardian were released stating that hundreds of Eritreans had been taken away from their refugee camps near the Eritrean-Sudanese border. Several of the citizens being deported were reported to be Eritrean men who had fled the Eritrean army after being conscripted. Several women were also reported to be arrested.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Battle of El Fasher</span> Battle during the 2023 Sudan conflict

The Battle of El Fasher is an ongoing battle for control of the town of El Fasher in North Darfur during the 2023 Sudan conflict. The first battle for the city took place between April 15 and April 20, and resulted in a ceasefire that held until May 12. Clashes broke out again between May 12 and 29, and ended with a more stable ceasefire that lasted until August. By September, the city had become a haven for refugees across the region, and was also suffering from food and water shortages.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Treaty of Jeddah (2023)</span> 2023 two-week long treaty for peace in Sudan

The Treaty of Jeddah or Jeddah Declaration and long named to the Jeddah Declaration of Commitment to Protect the Civilians of Sudan: the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces Agreement on a Short-Term Ceasefire and Humanitarian Arrangements is a ongoing international agreement that was made to make peace in Sudan. The Treaty of Jeddah, which was signed by the United States, Saudi Arabia, and Sudan and representatives of both warring sides on 20 May 2023, entered into force 48 hours later on 22 May 2023. The agreement was supposed to create a week-long ceasefire and the distribution of humanitarian aid within the country. The agreement expired suddenly after a surge of clashes on 23 May 2023, a day after the agreement came into effect. With the actual date of expiry being 27 May 2023, the nations agreed on an extension for five days but was shortened due to the agreement's ineffectiveness.

The 2023 Khartoum destruction of aircraft was the loss of several civilian aircraft that occurred during the battle of Khartoum.

References

  1. ↑ "Ukraine, Sudan conflicts fuel alarming surge in tuberculosis". CTVNews. 8 May 2023. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  2. ↑ Hassanain, Sara A.; Edwards, Jeffrey K.; Venables, Emilie; Ali, Engy; Adam, Khadiga; Hussien, Hafiz; Elsony, Asma (16 May 2018). "Conflict and tuberculosis in Sudan: a 10-year review of the National Tuberculosis Programme, 2004-2014". Conflict and Health. 12 (1): 18. doi: 10.1186/s13031-018-0154-0 . ISSN   1752-1505. PMC   5954449 . PMID   29785203.
  3. 1 2 Lederer, Edith M. (8 May 2023). "Ukraine, Sudan conflicts fuel alarming surge in tuberculosis". Los Angeles Times. The Associated Press. Retrieved 8 May 2023.
  4. 1 2 3 4 5 "Tuberculosis (TB)". who.int. Archived from the original on 30 July 2020. Retrieved 8 May 2020.
  5. ↑ "Basic TB Facts". Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). 13 March 2012. Archived from the original on 6 February 2016. Retrieved 11 February 2016.
  6. 1 2 Konstantinos A (2010). "Testing for tuberculosis". Australian Prescriber. 33 (1): 12–18. doi: 10.18773/austprescr.2010.005 .
  7. ↑ Hawn TR, Day TA, Scriba TJ, Hatherill M, Hanekom WA, Evans TG, et al. (December 2014). "Tuberculosis vaccines and prevention of infection". Microbiology and Molecular Biology Reviews. 78 (4): 650–71. doi:10.1128/MMBR.00021-14. PMC   4248657 . PMID   25428938.
  8. 1 2 Implementing the WHO Stop TB Strategy: a handbook for national TB control programmes. Geneva: World Health Organization (WHO). 2008. p. 179. ISBN   978-92-4-154667-6. Archived from the original on 2 June 2021. Retrieved 17 September 2017.
  9. ↑ Harris RE (2013). "Epidemiology of Tuberculosis". Epidemiology of chronic disease: global perspectives. Burlington, MA: Jones & Bartlett Learning. p. 682. ISBN   978-0-7637-8047-0.
  10. ↑ "Sudan unrest: RSF captures presidential palace as violence rages". www.geo.tv. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 18 April 2023.
  11. ↑ "Saudi airline says plane came under fire at Khartoum International Airport". Reuters. 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  12. ↑ "Sudan: Paramilitary group says it controls palace, Khartoum airport". The Jerusalem Post | JPost.com. 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  13. ↑ "Sudan's RSF say it seized presidential palace, Khartoum airport in apparent coup bid". Al Arabiya English. 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 16 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
  14. ↑ "Fighting between Sudan military rivals enters a second day, with dozens dead". CNN. 15 April 2023. Archived from the original on 15 April 2023. Retrieved 16 April 2023.
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