In recent weeks, the two armed groups have been locked in a battle to control Sudan. This has led to an evacuation of the American embassy in the nation.
The U.S. military evacuated embassy personnel over the weekend, and Secretary of State Antony Blinken said Monday that the U.S. was considering resuming a diplomatic presence in the country to assist American citizens, many of whom are dual nationals. He said the State Department was in touch with private U.S. citizens to help them find routes to safety.The U.S. was also assisting its citizens out of Port Sudan, the embassy in Khartoum said Tuesday on Twitter, adding that “border crossings into neighboring countries are possible but routes can be unpredictable or dangerous.”
And while conflicts in that region are nothing new, the World Health Organization has issued a disturbing warning about a ‘high risk of biological hazard” after fighters seized a laboratory.
Officials said it was unclear who was behind the occupation of the National Public Health Laboratory in the capital Khartoum.The city has been ravaged by fighting between the army and the paramilitary Rapid Support Forces (RSF).The WHO told the BBC on Tuesday that workers can no longer access the lab.And it warned that power cuts were making it impossible to properly manage material at the lab.Officials said that a broad range of biological and chemical materials are stored in the lab. The facility holds measles and cholera pathogens, as well as other hazardous materials.
One official warned that laboratory technicians could not access the lab to contain the material.
Dr. Nima Saeed Abid, assigned to the post of WHO representative in Sudan, effective Aug. 4, 2020, addressed reporters in Geneva, Switzerland, via video link.”There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab… by one of the fighting parties,” Abid said, as Agence France-Presse reported.Abid added on the call that at least 459 people had been killed in fighting in Sudan and 4,072 injured…
At this point, one can only hope it is the standard strains of cholera and measles in that laboratory….as opposed to genetically enhanced versions.
I have often discussed measles in the post. In the interest of providing additional information, it might be a good moment to refresh our memories about cholera.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by intestine infection with the toxigenic bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Approximately 1 in 10 people who get cholera will develop severe symptoms such as watery diarrhea, vomiting, and leg cramps.
A person can get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with cholera bacteria. In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an infected person that contaminates water or food. The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of sewage and drinking water. The infection is not likely to spread directly from one person to another; therefore, casual contact with an infected person is not a risk factor for becoming ill.
The US had three serious waves of cholera between 1832 and 1866. The last cholera outbreak in this country was in 1910–1911, when the steamship Moltke brought infected people from Naples to New York City.
Of course, there may be samples of other pathogens in that laboratory. Here’s hoping there isn’t a pandemic-scale consequence due to the Sudanese clash between generals.
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