Chinese medics offer respite to South Sudan's citizens grappling with ailments

JUBA -- Andrew Kongor Garang, a 59-year-old electrician in South Sudan's Ministry of Higher Education, was in very critical condition last week with his family being told he was having malaria and typhoid at a private clinic where he had been admitted.

Despite the earlier diagnosis prescribed to Kongor, his elder son Emmanuel Garang was having none of it as his father's situation continued to deteriorate.

Garang amid being nervous and tired of the situation on Thursday headed to Juba Teaching Hospital where Bino Andrea, director of Accident and Emergency Department and two Chinese doctors of the ninth batch of the Chinese medical team examined his father and found out he had Chronic Gastritis.

"The patient came complaining of hepatitis for three days then we decided to do an endoscopy on him and the result is chronic gastritis, there is nothing else besides gastritis," Andrea told Xinhua in the capital, Juba, on Thursday.

Andrea and his two Chinese colleagues Chen Li and Yang Jie helped diagnose Kongor who had failed to get an accurate diagnosis of his ailment using an endoscopy machine donated in 2019 by the Chinese government.

It is the only endoscopy machine at the main referral hospital that is thronged daily by thousands of patients seeking treatment.

Garang narrated to Xinhua that his family is now relieved after finding out the ailment of his elderly father.

"He got sick last week on Saturday (Feb. 5) and he was admitted for almost two days in the hospital and the result was malaria, typhoid and ulcers but we later came to this hospital and he was diagnosed and found with cardiac inflammation, chronic gastritis and Duodenal diverticulum," said Garang.

"We are glad that we have seen everything clearly and hope that he will recover," added Garang who witnessed Chen and Yang do the diagnosis on his father.

Chen also said she had not anticipated an emergency case like that of Kongor since he had been rushed in due to his critical condition ahead of other patients.

She said at first her team suspected Kongor had contracted COVID-19, but they realized he was negative after he took a test before handling his case.

He was releasing blood stained stool, coughing and with a running nose, said Chen prior to treating Kongor.

Chen, who offered Chinese medicine to Kongor after diagnosing him with Chronic Gastritis, said she is hopeful of him recovering within a short time.

Chronic gastritis is a long-term condition in which the mucus lined layer of the stomach, also known as the gastric mucosa, is inflamed or irritated over a longer period of time.

However, Andrea who directs the department of accidents and emergency department said they need to also have Endoscopic ultrasound (EUS) to be able to handle other complicated ailments such as tissue biopsy, lung diseases and esophageal cancer.

"There are a lot of patients referred outside who need the endoscopy ultrasound to see the extent of the (stomach) cancer," said Andrea.

He added that the hospital also needs to have a colonoscopy that examines the lower half of the digestive system.