Toll from cholera outbreak in South Sudan reaches 27: UN

The number of people dying of cholera outbreak has reached 27 in South Sudanese capital of Juba with suspected cases turning more than double from 395 cases last week to 892, the UN humanitarian agency said Saturday.

According to the UN Office for Coordination of Humanitarian Crisis (OCHA) South Sudan, living conditions in displacement sites continued to deteriorate due to flooding caused by heavy rains, especially in Jonglei, Unity and Upper Nile, Xinhua reported.

"Out of the cholera cases reported, 62 percent are men and aged 20-34 years (41 percent)," OCHA said in its latest report. 

"The case fatality rate of 3 percent is still above emergency threshold, indicating late presentation of people at health facilities."

Cholera broke out in Juba where five months of conflict between the pro-government troops and anti-government forces has left thousands homeless and disrupted food supplies and health services.

Aid agencies have warned the situation is dire and may worsen as the rainy season hits. Hundreds of thousands of people in South Sudan are living in displaced persons camps which are congested and lack clean water.