Current:Home > MySudan fighting brings "huge biological risk" as lab holding samples of deadly diseases occupied, WHO warns-LoTradeCoin
Sudan fighting brings "huge biological risk" as lab holding samples of deadly diseases occupied, WHO warns
View Date:2024-12-23 22:42:54
Geneva — Fighters have occupied a national public laboratory in Sudan holding samples of diseases including polio and measles, creating an "extremely, extremely dangerous" situation, the World Health Organization warned Tuesday. Fighters "kicked out all the technicians from the lab... which is completely under the control of one of the fighting parties as a military base," said Nima Saeed Abid, the WHO's representative in Sudan.
He did not say which of the two warring factions had taken over the laboratory, as a tense truce appeared to be largely holding Tuesday, easing more than a week of intense fighting between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the country's RSF paramilitary group.
- 2 Sudan generals are at war with each other. Here's what to know.
Abid said he had received a call from the head of the national lab in Khartoum on Monday, a day before a US-brokered 72-hour ceasefire between Sudan's warring generals officially came into effect after 10 days of urban combat.
"There is a huge biological risk associated with the occupation of the central public health lab," said Abid.
He pointed out that the lab held so-called isolates, or samples, of a range of deadly diseases, including measles, polio and cholera.
The U.N. health agency also said it had confirmed 14 attacks on healthcare during the fighting, killing eight and injuring two, and it warned that "depleting stocks of blood bags risk spoiling due to lack of power."
"In addition to chemical hazards, bio-risk hazards are also very high due to lack of functioning generators," Abid said.
The Sudanese health ministry has put the number of deaths so far at 459, with a further 4,072 wounded, the WHO said Tuesday, adding it had not been able to verify that number.
Looming refugee exodus
The U.N. refugee agency said thousands had already fled the violence and that it was bracing for up to 270,000 people to flee Sudan into neighboring Chad and South Sudan.
UNHCR said it does not yet have estimates for the numbers headed to other surrounding countries, but there were reports of chaos at at least one border, with Egypt, as Sudanese nationals sought to flee their country while other nations worked to get their citizens out.
Laura Lo Castro, the agency's representative in Chad, said some 20,000 refugees had arrived there since the fighting began 10 days ago.
Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video-link, she said the UNHCR expected up to 100,000 "in the worst-case scenario".
Her colleague in South Sudan, Marie-Helene Verney, said that around 4,000 of the more than 800,000 South Sudanese refugees living in Sudan had returned home since the fighting began.
Looking forward, she told reporters that "the most likely scenario is 125,000 returns of South Sudanese refugees into South Sudan".
Up to 45,000 Sudanese might also flee as refugees into South Sudan, she said.
Jens Laerke, spokesman for the UN humanitarian agency, said the fighting had led to "acute shortages of food, water, medicines and fuel, and limited communications and electricity."
"The people of Sudan, already deeply affected by humanitarian needs, are staring into the abyss."
Some 15.8 million people in Sudan — a third of the population — already needed humanitarian aid before the latest violence erupted.
But humanitarian operations have also been heavily affected by the fighting, Laerke warned, highlighting among other things reports of looting of humanitarian supplies and warehouses.
Five humanitarian workers have been killed.
- In:
- Centers for Disease Control and Prevention
- Polio
- Sudan
- Cholera
- Measles
veryGood! (6)
Related
- Nearly 80,000 pounds of Costco butter recalled for missing 'Contains Milk statement': FDA
- Fracking’s Costs Fall Disproportionately on the Poor and Minorities in South Texas
- AEP Cancels Nation’s Largest Wind Farm: 3 Challenges Wind Catcher Faced
- Kim Kardashian Addresses Rumors She and Pete Davidson Rekindled Their Romance Last Year
- Karol G addresses backlash to '+57' lyric: 'I still have a lot to learn'
- Native American Tribe Gets Federal Funds to Flee Rising Seas
- Wednesday's Percy Hynes White Denies Baseless, Harmful Misconduct Accusations
- Women face age bias at work no matter how old they are: No right age
- Why Cynthia Erivo Needed Prosthetic Ears for Wicked
- Shop the Top-Rated Under $100 Air Purifiers That Are a Breath of Fresh Air
Ranking
- New York races to revive Manhattan tolls intended to fight traffic before Trump can block them
- Climate Summit ‘Last Chance’ for Brazil to Show Leadership on Global Warming
- Kathy Griffin Undergoes Vocal Cord Surgery
- ChatGPT maker OpenAI sued for allegedly using stolen private information
- Pitchfork Music Festival to find new home after ending 19-year run in Chicago
- BMX Rider Pat Casey Dead at 29 After Accident at Motocross Park
- Beyoncé Handles Minor Wardrobe Malfunction With Ease During Renaissance Show
- Atlanta Charts a Path to 100 Percent Renewable Electricity
Recommendation
-
North Carolina offers schools $1 million to help take students on field trips
-
See Ariana Madix SURve Up Justice in First Look at Buying Back My Daughter Movie
-
Ariana Madix Finally Confronts Diabolical, Demented Raquel Leviss Over Tom Sandoval Affair
-
DeSantis Recognizes the Threat Posed by Climate Change, but Hasn’t Embraced Reducing Carbon Emissions
-
Appeals Court Affirms Conviction of Everglades Scientist Accused of Stealing ‘Trade Secrets’
-
Ahead of the Climate Summit, Environmental Groups Urge Biden to Champion Methane Reductions as a Quick Warming Fix
-
State Department report on chaotic Afghan withdrawal details planning and communications failures
-
Environmental Justice Bill Fails to Pass in California