On Friday, North Korea said hundreds of families were suffering from an unspecified intestinal illness, putting pressure on a health care system already overwhelmed by Covid-19.
The country this week identified a new “acute intestinal epidemic” in South Hwanghae province. North Korean leader Kim Jong-un called on the authorities to “contain the epidemic as soon as possible.”
The leader’s sister Kim Yo-jong is among a group of high-ranking officials who are said to have donated medicine to try to help. The drug will be delivered to “more than 800 families affected by an acute epidemic in parts of South Hwanghae province.”
The figure suggests that at least 1,600 people have been infected with the intestinal infection.
The unspecified disease is suspected to be cholera or typhoid fever. If confirmed, the outbreak could exacerbate the country’s chronic food shortages, as South Hwanghae Province is one of North Korea’s main agricultural regions.
One of the worst healthcare systems in the world
Experts have warned of a major public health emergency in the North, which has one of the worst healthcare systems in the world, if Covid-19 spreads. The country has poorly equipped hospitals, few intensive care units, and no capacity for mass testing for COVID-19.
Pyongyang announced the first cases of covid-19 last month and activated the “maximum emergency epidemic prevention system.” However, the virus has reached an unvaccinated population of 25 million, with more than 4.5 million cases of “fever” and 73 deaths reported to date, according to data released by state media.
