WHO warn of biological risk after lab in Sudan is seized

Published in Reuters

There is a "high risk of biological hazard" in the Sudanese capital Khartoum after one of the warring parties seized a laboratory holding measles and cholera pathogens and other hazardous materials, the World Health Organization has said. 

Speaking to reporters in Geneva via video link from Sudan, the WHO's Nima Saeed Abid said technicians were unable to access the National Public Health Laboratory to secure the materials.

"This is the main concern: no accessibility to the lab technicians to go to the lab and safely contain the biological material and substances available," he said, declining to specify which side had seized the facility.

Fighting erupted between the Sudanese armed forces and Rapid Support Forces (RSF) paramilitaries on April 15 and has killed at least 459 people and injured 4,072, according to the WHO's latest figures.