North Korea has dispatched medical crew and epidemiological investigators to South Hwanghae, a province battling the outbreak of an intestinal disease, state media reported on Sunday. At least 800 families are suffering from what the country has only called an “acute enteric epidemic” which refers to a digestive illness. South Korean officials have said the outbreak may be cholera or typhoid, Reuters reported. The 800 families have received aid so far in South Hwanghae Province, about 75 miles south of the capital Pyongyang.
The crew were mandated to sterilize infected areas and conduct an intensive treatment campaign to cure patients in close collaboration with curative and preventive units in the areas, said KCNA.
The state media reported that "positive efforts are being made to build quarantine wards with greater accommodation capacity, improved closure and treatment conditions."
Medical experts are also are examining over 10 kinds of already developed antiviral medicines.
The new outbreak, which was first reported last week, comes amid a wave of COVID-19 infections, chronic food shortages, and economic struggles.
