Sudanese health authorities said on Sunday that the cholera outbreak has claimed the lives of nearly twenty people and infected hundreds more in recent weeks. The African nation has suffered from a 16-month-long conflict and devastating floods.

Health Minister Haitham Mohammed Ibrahim stated in a statement that at least 22 people have died due to the disease, and at least 354 confirmed cases of cholera have been detected across the country in recent weeks.

Ibrahim did not provide a timeframe for the fatalities or the number since the beginning of the year. However, the World Health Organization stated that there have been 78 recorded deaths due to cholera in Sudan this year up to July 28. It added that the disease has also affected more than 2,400 other people between January 1 and July 28.

Cholera is a rapidly spreading, highly infectious disease that causes diarrhea, leading to severe dehydration and potential death within hours if untreated, according to the World Health Organization. It spreads through the ingestion of contaminated food or water.

The cholera outbreak is the latest disaster for Sudan, which was plunged into chaos in April of last year when tensions between the military and a powerful paramilitary group erupted into open warfare across the country.

The conflict has turned the capital and other urban areas into battlefields, destroying already fragile civil infrastructure and healthcare systems. Without essentials, many hospitals and medical facilities have closed their doors.

It has killed thousands of people and driven many to hunger, with famine already confirmed in a sprawling displacement camp in the shattered northern region of Darfur.

The Sudan conflict has created the largest displacement crisis in the world. More than 10.7 million people have been forced to flee their homes since fighting began, according to the International Organization for Migration. More than two million of these have escaped to neighboring countries.

The fighting has been marked by atrocities including gang rape and ethnic killings that amount to war crimes and crimes against humanity, according to U.N. and international human rights groups.

Recent devastating seasonal floods have doubled the misery. Dozens of people have died, and critical infrastructure has been washed away in 12 of Sudan's 18 provinces, according to local authorities. Approximately 118,000 people have been displaced due to the floods, according to the U.N. migration agency.

Cholera is not common in Sudan, and a previous major outbreak caused at least 700 deaths and illness in about 22,000 in less than two months in 2017.

Meanwhile, the Sudanese military-controlled Sovereign Council said on Sunday that it would send a government delegation to meet with U.S. officials in Cairo amid heightened U.S. pressure on the military to join ongoing peace talks in Switzerland aimed at finding a way out of the conflict.

The council stated in a statement that the Cairo meeting will focus on implementing a deal between the military and the Rapid Support Forces, which calls for the paramilitary group to withdraw from people's homes in Khartoum and other areas of the country.

The talks began on August 14 in Switzerland with diplomats from the United States, Saudi Arabia, Egypt, the United Arab Emirates, the African Union, and the United Nations. The delegation from the Rapid Support Forces was in Geneva but did not join the meetings.