ProMED-mail post

Published Date: 2005-08-12 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (31)
Archive Number: 20050812.2359

CHOLERA, DIARRHEA & DYSENTERY UPDATE 2005 (31)
**********************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<http://www.isid.org/>
Sponsored in part by Elsevier, publisher of
Infectious Disease products
<http://www.intl.elsevierhealth.com/infectiousdiseases/>
In this update:
Asia
[1] Cholera - China
[2] Cholera - China (SAR Hong Kong) ex Indonesia
[3] & [4] Cholera - Iran (Qom, Tehran)
[5] Cholera - Pakistan (Swabi)
[6] Gastroenteritis, fatal - Pakistan (Punjab)
[7] Cholera, diarrheal disease - India (Maharashtra)
Africa
[8] Cholera - Mauritania (Nouakchott)
[9] & [10] Cholera - Liberia (Sinoe)
[11] Cholera- DR Congo (N Kivu)
[12] Cholera - Guinea-Bissau
Worldwide
[13] Cholera - Worldwide - WHO WER Notifications
*****
[1] Cholera - China
Date: Wed, 10 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: XinHuaNet.com [edited]
<http://news.xinhuanet.com/english/2005-08/11/content_3337131.htm>

Infectious diseases kill 754 in July [2005] in China
----------------------------------------------------
A total of 754 people were killed by 27 kinds of infectious diseases
in China's 390 418 infection cases in July 2005, said the Ministry of
Health here Wed, 10 Aug 2005.
The 5 most common diseases were tuberculosis, hepatitis B, bacterial
and amebic dysenteries, gonorrhea and syphilis, which accounted for
87.86 percent of all the cases. The 5 most common fatal diseases
were tuberculosis, rabies, AIDS, Japanese encephalitis and hepatitis
B, which accounted for 85.54 percent of the total deaths.
China also reported 76 cholera cases in Jul 2005, 2.5 times the
number during that same period in 2004.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[2] Cholera - China (SAR Hong Kong) ex Indonesia
Date: Mon, 8 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org.
Source: News.gov.hk [edited]
<http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/html/2d186317-ea6f-464a-
9385-fbef8e4e6d9a.htm>

Imported cholera case confirmed
-------------------------------
The Centre for Health Protection has confirmed an imported cholera
case involving a 25-year-old woman, bringing the year's total to 3.
She fell ill in Indonesia on 3 Aug 2005, arrived in Hong Kong 2 days
later and was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital. Her condition
is stable. Of the 2 other cases, 1 has been classified local while
the other is pending classification. To prevent cholera and
food-borne diseases, observe good personal, food and environmental
hygiene, particularly when travelling outside Hong Kong.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[3] Cholera - Iran (Qom, Tehran)
Date: Sun, 7 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org.
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/OLI745394.htm>

Iran taking steps to curb cholera, says WHO
-------------------------------------------
Iran is taking steps to stop a cholera outbreak in its early stages
after 56 people were diagnosed with the disease, the WHO said on Sun,
7 Aug 2005, adding that 3 more had died from it.
The UN health agency declared Iran free of cholera in 1996 but the
disease, spread through contaminated food and water, later returned.
Officials reported outbreaks in 2000 and 2001.
Mubashar Sheikh, WHO representative in Iran, said Tehran had been
open about the problem. "The government is sensitive and is taking
measures. We are not too concerned but are following it very
closely," he told Reuters.
He said most cases were among Shi'ite Muslim pilgrims who had come
from Pakistan and Afghanistan, particularly those visiting the
central seminary city of Qom. However, there were also several cases
in poor suburbs and satellite towns of Tehran.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[4] Cholera - Iran (Qom, Tehran)
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
From: Pablo Nart <pablo11@hotPOP.com>
Source: Yahoo News [edited]
<http://206.190.35.122/s/afp/20050806/hl_afp/iranhealth_050806190909>

2 people have died and 46 have become ill in a cholera outbreak in
various parts of Iran due to the consumption of contaminated
vegetables, state media said. More than half of the affected people
are from Qom in central Iran and 17 cases have been reported in towns
of Tehran province.
A local official in Qom warned inhabitants to avoid contact with
foreign visitors, especially Afghan and Iraqi pilgrims, travelling to
Iran's theological epicentre.
"At the moment, travelers from the eastern borders with Afghanistan
and Pakistan are being quarantined and controlled," an official at
the health ministry, Mohammad Mehdi Gouya, told state media.
Gouya warned travellers about consuming unsafe water and recommended
they consume only bottled or boiled water.
According to the health ministry's deputy for management of diseases,
Mohsen Zahraei, the last cholera epidemic in Iran was reported in
1998 with 11 000 cases. In the past 4 years, the total reported
cases of cholera was 100, he said.
"Floods and flowing waters in the last year have caused a leakage
from sewage waters to underground water sources and this has
increased the risk of cholera in summer," Zahraie told the student
news agency ISNA.
Officials further warned people not to have food at roadside
restaurants, especially salads, non-packaged juices and open junk
food.
--
Pablo Nart
<pablo11@hotPOP.com>
******
[5] Cholera - Pakistan (Swabi)
Date: Sat, 6 Aug 2005
From: Pablo Nart <pablo11@hotPOP.com>
Source: Dawn.com [edited]
<http://www.dawn.com/2005/08/07/nat38.htm>

Cholera: emergency declared in Swabi
------------------------------------
An outbreak of cholera and gastroenteritis left 5 people dead in
Swabi district and forced health officials to declare an emergency.
Several villages of Swabi district were in the grip of the epidemic
which has affected children, youngsters and the elderly.
NWFP Health Minister Inayatullah Khan said a control room has been
established in Swabi district, where paramedical staff are present
round-the-clock to deal with emergency cases.
He also issued directives to repair damaged pipelines to avoid such
situations in future.
The health department has established various teams to vaccinate
people throughout the district and to drop potassium permanganate in
the wells of mosques, houses and schools.
--
Pablo Nart
<pablo11@hotPOP.com>
******
[6] Gastroenteritis, fatal - Pakistan (Punjab)
Date: Fri, 29 Jul 2005
From: Rana Jawad Asghar <jawad@alumni.washington.edu>
Source: The Daily Times [edited]
<http://www.dailytimes.com.pk/default.asp?page=story_29-7-2005_pg7_22>

8 more die of gastroenteritis
-----------------------------
At least 8 more people have died of gastroenteritis over the last 3
days in Multan division, increasing the death toll from the ailment
to 60 in southern Punjab.
"About 6027 people, most of them children and women, have been
affected by the ailment over the last 34 days," Dr Abdul Hameed
Chugtai, executive district health officer of Multan, told Daily
Times on Thu, 28 Jul 2005.
Meanwhile, in a meeting chaired by Health Director General Dr Abdul
Majeed Rajpoot, health officials discussed measures to deal with the
outbreak of gastroenteritis.
--
Dr. Rana Jawad Asghar
Coordinator South Asian Public Health Forum
<jawad@alumni.washington.edu>
******
[7] Cholera, diarrheal disease - India (Maharashtra)
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://in.today.reuters.com/news/NewsArticle.aspx?type=topNews&storyID=2005-
08-05T180015Z_01_NOOTR_RTRJONC_0_India-211715-1.xml>

Medical teams fight disease in flood-hit Maharashtra
----------------------------------------------------
About 3000 people have been affected by cholera, gastroenteritis and
dysentery in the rain-ravaged Indian state of Maharashtra, but there
have been no signs of an epidemic yet, an official said on Fri, 5 Aug
2005.
Residents of Bombay, where scores died in the flooding brought by the
heaviest monsoon rains in decades, were advised to boil water, take
chlorine tablets and test drinking water supplies for any
contamination.
"There is no evidence of an epidemic. We are taking every step to
ensure there is no (large) outbreak of disease," state relief
director Suresh Kakine told Reuters. He said nearly 700 medical
teams had spread themselves across Maharashtra, one of India's
largest states, where thousands remain displaced from their homes.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[8] Cholera - Mauritania (Nouakchott)
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: TodayOnline.com [edited]
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/65834.asp>

Cholera outbreak in Mauritania
------------------------------
The Mauritanian authorities have begun setting up emergency treatment
centres after a cholera outbreak in the capital, local health
officials said.
The outbreak in poor areas of the Elmina district (on the outskirts
of the capital, Nouakchott - Mod.LL) has affected 240 people, but
there were no figures for the number of dead, the officials said Tue,
9 Aug 2005, quoted by the Mauritanian Information Agency (MIA).
Medical camps were being set up in the affected areas to treat the
cholera victims, to provide medicines (including antibiotics), and to
distribute soap and bleach to improve hygiene.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[9] Cholera - Liberia (Sinoe)
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AllAfrica.com and The Analyst (Monrovia) [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200508050248.html>

Cholera Hits Mining Site in Sinoe
--------------------------------
Cholera is reportedly raging in the newly found mining area in Sinoe
County. The disease has reportedly affected several residents in the
area, most of whom are said to have been taken to nearby areas for
treatment. 2 persons are said to have died from the cholera outbreak
so far.
Breaking the information to this paper, a cholera victim who arrived
in Monrovia and is presently at the JFK taking treatment, said the
situation was troubling and worrisome. The victim says the outbreak
of the disease is due to what he called "huge presence of people at
the mining site." He put the number of people in the area at 18 000
to 20 000.
Besides saying that the outbreak was due to overcrowding, he also
blamed the lack of safe drinking water and places to sleep in that
remote part of Sinoe.
[Byline: Mike Jabateh]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[10] Cholera - Liberia (Sinoe)
Date: Thu, 11 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: News24.com [edited]
<http://www.news24.com/News24/Africa/News/0,6119,2-11-1447_1752744,00.html>

Cholera claims 100 in Liberia
-----------------------------
A cholera outbreak has claimed more than 100 lives at an illegal gold
and diamond mine in southeast Liberia, it emerged on Thu, 11 Aug 2005.
The Catholic-run Radio Veritas reported that the outbreak in the town
of Butaw in Sinoe County, which started last week, was the result of
poor sanitation. A resident of the area, recently arrived in
Monrovia, said a creek used for drinking water was contaminated by
raw sewage.
Information Minister William Allen confirmed the outbreak, and the
health ministry had dispatched a team to the area.
According to the information ministry, thousands of illegal miners,
including many Ghanaians, Nigerians and Mauritanians, were said to be
operating illegally in Sinoe County in an area of protected forest.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[11] Cholera - DR Congo (N Kivu)
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail<promed@promedmail.org>
Source: IRIN News [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/ffcee59ce208a8e545f11da8cd040f85
.htm>

Cholera in Goma
---------------
Health officials say that outbreaks of cholera and measles in the
eastern Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) town of Goma have caused
the death of at least 5 adults and 16 children in the last 4 weeks.
"We have registered about 200 cases of cholera and 270 cases of
measles since Jul 2005," Dr Alain Kiputsuthe, the chief medical
officer for Goma, capital of North Kivu Province, said on Mon, 8 Jul
2005.
One of the causes of the cholera outbreak is a shortage of drinking
water in Goma over the last month. "Even the health centers receiving
cholera patients do not have enough potable water," he said.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[The number of deaths specifically due to cholera is not stated, but
probably includes all 5 of the adult deaths and a number of the
children. - Mod.LL]
******
[12] Cholera - Guinea-Bissau
Date: Tue, 9 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: TodayOnline.com [edited]
<http://www.todayonline.com/articles/65688.asp>

The cholera epidemic sweeping Guinea-Bissau has reached "alarming
proportions," health officials said as the death toll continued to
rise and the number of cases soared into the thousands.
"There have been 5300 cases and 83 deaths recorded" since the
outbreak of the cholera epidemic 2 months ago, Communications
Minister El Hadji Lamine Indjai said. He added that the epidemic had
spread to all corners of the country.
The most severely affected area is the capital city of Bissau --
where the 1st cases were reported in early Jun 2005 -- which has
registered 4147 cases. The western region of Biombo followed with 735
cases and 29 deaths, officials said.
Indjai attributed rampant contagion to the rainy season and to a lack
of sanitation. "The rainy season and traditional septic tanks are
contributing to the contamination of wells, from which 90 percent of
the population gets its drinking water," he said.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
******
[13] Cholera - Worldwide - WHO WER Notifications
Date: Fri, 12 Aug 2005
From: Marianne Hopp
Source: WHO Epidemiological Record, 12 Aug 2005 2005 [edited]
<http://www.who.int/wer/2005/wer8032/en>

Notifications of cholera received from 5 to 11 Aug 2005
------------------------------------------------------
country / dates / cases / deaths
Africa
Guinea 24 Jun - 24 Jul 2005 / 208 / 6
Guinea-Bissau 12 - 31 Jul 2005 / 2206 / 25
Mali 27 Jun - 24 Jul 2005 / 41 / 5
Senegal 11 - 31 Jul 2005 / 51/ 1
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Elsevier reference:
D. Sack, R. Sack, G. Nair, A. Siddique 2005. Cholera. Lancet, 363 (9404): 223-
233. <http://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0140673603153287>]

See Also