JUBA, Feb. 7 (Xinhua) -- South Sudan's health ministry and World Health Organization (WHO) on Wednesday declared the end of a cholera outbreak in the strife-torn country, where 436 people have died from the disease since July last year.

"We today declare an end of the cholera outbreak that affected the country from June 18 2016 to December 18 2017," South Sudan health minister Riek Gai Kok told journalists in Juba.

The outbreak was declared in South Sudan on July 22, 2016. Kok said the ministry documented 20,438 cases with 436 deaths in 26 counties during the 18 months of outbursts.

He said the last confirmed cholera case was reported in al Sabah hospital, Juba, in December 2017.

"As we declare the end of cholera outbreak, the public is encouraged to continue observing the preventive measures to avoid cholera and other diarrheal diseases," said Kok.

He said the outbreak was the longest and largest cholera epidemic ever recorded in terms of scale and spread in the country.

The minister said the outbreak was successfully interrupted through joint efforts from health partners and donors like Global Alliance for Vaccines and Immunization (GAVI). Enditem