Fears As Reports Of Another ‘Epidemic’ Surfaces In North Korea

At least 800 families suffering from what North Korea has only called an “acute enteric epidemic”
Enteric refer to the gastrointestinal tract and South Korean officials say it may be cholera or typhoid.

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EKO HOT BLOG reports that North Korea has dispatched medical crews and epidemiological investigators to a province battling the outbreak of an intestinal disease.

Local media reported on Sunday that at least 800 families suffering from what North Korea has only called an “acute enteric epidemic” have received aid so far in South Hwanghae Province, about 75 miles South of the capital Pyongyang.

Enteric refers to the gastrointestinal tract and South Korean officials say it may be cholera or typhoid.

The new outbreak, first reported on Thursday, puts further strain on the isolated country as it battles chronic food shortages and a wave of Covid-19 infections.

On Sunday, state news agency KCNA detailed prevention efforts, including quarantines, “intensive screening for all residents,” and special treatment and monitoring of vulnerable people such as children and the elderly.

A national “Rapid Diagnosis and Treatment Team” is working with local health officials, and measures are being taken to ensure that farming is not disrupted in the key agricultural area, KCNA said.

Disinfection work is being carried out, including of sewage and other waste, to ensure the safety of drinking and household water, the report said.

FURTHER READING

State newspaper Rodong Sinmun on Friday said medicines prepared by North Korean leader Kim Jong Un and others, including his sister, would be delivered to families in South Hwanghae Province.

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Yinka Akanbi

Yinka is an aesthete and a cosmopolite.