ProMED-mail post

Published Date: 2012-08-14 13:48:07
Subject: PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2012 (37): Africa, Asia
Archive Number: 20120814.1238604

CHOLERA, DIARRHEA & DYSENTERY UPDATE 2012 (37): AFRICA, ASIA
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In this update:
Africa
[1] Cholera - Guinea
[2] Cholera - Congo DR
[3] Cholera - Cote d'Ivoire (Lagunes region)
[4] Cholera - Sierra Leone (Western area)
Asia
[5] Cholera - China (Hong Kong) ex Bangladesh
[6] Cholera - Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province)
[7] Cholera - Malaysia (Borneo)
[8] Cholera - Nepal (Doti region)
[9] Cholera - Nepal (Kathmandu district)

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[1] Cholera - Guinea
Date: Thu 9 Aug 2012
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) [edited]
http://www.google.com/hostednews/afp/article/ALeqM5i-8I9vkXKD3NzA6lH5JbsgVJhaFA?docId=CNG.185ed25d673613589cc359cfe5cb2bd9.2c1

[Guinea's] health ministry said on Thu 9 Aug 2012 that 60 people have died of cholera and [the outbreak] is showing no signs of letting up. Officials have registered 2054 cases, with the capital Conakry and the south western city of Forecariah worst affected. 13 people have died in Conakry and 23 in Forecariah.

The NGO Medecins sans Frontieres [Doctors Without Borders] stated that it had increased the number of hospital beds to "soon reach 600 to prepare for the height of the outbreak." 2 other organisations, UNICEF and Action Against Hunger, have donated hygiene kits containing soap and chlorine to purify water. Guinean health authorities are also running local awareness campaigns in a bid to stem the outbreak.

Sierra Leone, Mali, and Niger have also been hard hit, with high levels of malnourishment as a result of a drought exacerbating the problem.

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[2] Cholera - Congo DR
Date: Wed 8 Aug 2012
Source: Vaccine News Daily [edited]
http://vaccinenewsdaily.com/africa/319574-cholera-outbreak-kills-10-in-democratic-republic-of-congo/

According to local authorities 10 people have died in the Democratic Republic of Congo due to a cholera epidemic. Cramped and unsanitary conditions in a displaced people's camp in the east [near Goma] have led to confirmed cases of the deadly waterborne disease. Thousands of people have fled to the camp to escape conflict in their homes, IB Times reports. A cholera outbreak spread through DRC in 2011, as well, killing hundreds in communities along the Congo River.

A makeshift clinic has been set up by doctors in the camp to care for the sick, while experts try to curb the spread of the disease, IB Times reports. Eastern Congo saw 18 552 cholera cases in 2011 resulting in 232 deaths.

[byline: Tina Redlup]

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[3] Cholera - Cote d'Ivoire (Lagunes region)
Date: Wed 8 Aug 2012
Source: Pasteur Institute in Abidjan, Agence Ivoirienne de Presse (AIP) report [in French, machine trans., edited]
http://news.abidjan.net/h/438576.html

On Wed 8 Aug 2012, the director of the health district of Tiassale, Koffi Kouakou Eugene, told AIP [Cote d'Ivoire Press Agency] that an epidemiological alert was declared on Fri 3 Aug 2012, after the Pasteur Institute in Abidjan confirmed the presence of cholera in the area of Assinze village, Tiassale department, Lagunes Region.

The "emergency measures to stop the spread of the disease" have been taken by the departmental authorities and medical officials, he indicated, stating that "a special observation room has been appointed within the general hospital of Tiassale, free kits have been distributed, and the people have been made aware of the risks of contagion of cholera."

Koffi Kouakou Eugene, who urged the people to follow the rules of hygiene, also called the political and administrative authorities of Tiassale to mobilize to eradicate the epidemic from this village of about 1500 individuals.

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[4] Cholera - Sierra Leone (Western area)
Date: Fri 3 Aug 2012
Source: Awoko [edited]
http://www.awoko.org/2012/08/03/cholera-claims-105-in-salone-%E2%80%A635-die-in-western-area/

Since 23 Jun 2012, cholera has so far claimed the lives of 105 people, with 35 deaths recorded in the Western Area alone, according to the manager of the National Disease Surveillance and Response.

Dr Foday Dafae disclosed in an interview with Awoko on 2 Aug 2012, disclosed that between 23 Jun 2012 and 31 Jul 2012, 1964 cases were reported across the country with 35 deaths recorded in the Western Area alone. The manager said the cholera outbreak started in the Kambia, Port Loko, and Pujehun districts in January 2012.

He stressed that the Western Area has recorded more cases than all the affected areas, disclosing further that in the Western Area alone, a total of 219 affected under 5 cases [cases under 5 years of age? - Mod.SH] were recorded with 4 deaths.

Dr Dafae however maintained that the National Disease Surveillance and Response unit of the Ministry of Health and Sanitation has now established Cholera Treatment Units in a number of locations in the Western Area, including Connaught Hospital, Marbella, Macauley Street, and at the Wellington Community Center with a bed capacity of 60.

[byline: Abibatu Kamara]

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[5] Cholera - China (Hong Kong) ex Bangladesh
Date: Tue 7 Aug 2012
Source: Examiner [edited]
http://www.examiner.com/article/hong-kong-health-officials-report-imported-case-of-cholera

A man who recently returned from a trip to Bangladesh with the symptoms of diarrhea and vomiting has been culture confirmed positive for the gastrointestinal disease, cholera. According to a Centre for Health Protection (CHP) news release Tue 7 Aug 2012, a 56 year old man developed diarrhea and vomiting on 1 Aug 2012 while still in Bangladesh.

He went to Princess Margaret Hospital on 3 Aug 2012 upon return to Hong Kong and was discharged the same day. He was admitted to the isolation ward of Princess Margaret Hospital on 6 Aug 2012 and is now in stable condition. On 7 Aug 2012 results on his stool culture yielded _Vibrio cholerae_ O1 serotype Ogawa.

A health department investigation into the case revealed the patient traveled to Dhaka, Bangladesh, between 24 Jul 2012 and 3 Aug 2012 with 9 people. 2 of his companions have also developed diarrhea and vomiting. Testing on the others in his party is pending.

Health officials say that this is the 2nd case of cholera in Hong Kong in 2012.

[byline: Robert Herriman]

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[6] Cholera - Pakistan (Khyber Pakhtunkhwa province)
Date: Tue 7 Aug 2012
Source: The Express Tribune [edited]
http://tribune.com.pk/story/418579/contaminated-water-cholera-outbreak-kills-one-in-swabi/

A cholera outbreak in a village of Swabi district [Khyber Pakhtunkhwa Province] has claimed a man's life while dozens of villagers were admitted to hospitals. The outbreak was reported in Takeel Village of the district's Gadoon area.

Dr Muhammad Riaz, in charge of the Expanded Programme on Immunization (EPI), said the disease spread among the villagers because of drinking contaminated water from a spring in the area. He said that more than a dozen patients from the village were rushed to the District Headquarters Hospital (DHQ) while more than 20 patients were sent to the Tehsil Headquarters Hospital in Topi.

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[7] Cholera - Malaysia (Borneo)
Date: Sun 5 Aug 2012
Source: Borneo Post [edited]
http://www.theborneopost.com/2012/08/05/only-the-public-can-stop-cholera-outbreak-dg/

The cholera outbreak in Bintulu can only be overcome if members of the public take their personal hygiene seriously, said health director-general Datuk Seri Dr Hasan Abdul Rahman. He said as of last Fri 3 Aug 2012, there were 624 suspected cases, while 110 patients had tested positive for the bacterium _Vibrio cholerae_ and were hospitalized.

"The transmission is still active and we are still reporting new cases. The public needs to cooperate and participate otherwise they will also be at risk. If you just leave the preventive measures to the government and Health Department, our activities are only confined to those who come in for health screening," Dr Hasan told a press conference after attending the Bintulu Hospital Health Carnival yesterday, 4 Aug 2012.

He strongly advised the public not to buy drinks with ice such as cordials because the water used to make the ice may not have been boiled. "We appeal to the public not to buy contaminated food. If the place is found to be dirty, please don't buy there because this is very clear, indicating that they are not good in their personal hygiene and don't care about health," he said.

On the latest outbreak, the 1st known patient infected by the disease was a Bintulu Regatta participant from a longhouse. It is believed that participants did not practise good hygiene and used water from Sungai Kemena that was already contaminated with bacteria from human waste. Dr Hasan added that hospitalised patients would be supplied with medicines for at least 3 days until their excrement samples indicated negative for bacteria.

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[8] Cholera - Nepal (Doti region)
Date: Tue 7 Aug 2012
Source: China Daily [edited]
http://www.chinadaily.com.cn/life/2012-08/07/content_15649180.htm

Cholera has claimed 2 more lives in Doti district in far western Nepal, bringing the death toll to 12 since the outbreak of the disease about a month-and-a- half ago.

According to the District Public Health Office, a 9 month old child and a 70 year old succumbed to the disease on Thursday night [2 Aug 2012], The Himalayan Times reported Sat 4 Aug 2011.

Cholera is sweeping across some villages in the district, putting more lives at risk. The majority of those succumbing to the disease were children and elderly.

Locals accused the government of failing to understand the gravity of the situation, the daily reported.

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[9] Cholera - Nepal (Kathmandu district)
Date: Sun 132 Aug 2012
Source: The Himalayan Times [edited]
http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullNews.php?headline=15+confirmed+cholera+cases+in+Kathmandu+&NewsID=343294

Since the onset of monsoon 15 cholera cases have been confirmed in Kathmandu district. Sukraraj Tropical and Infectious Disease Hospital has confirmed 14 cases, while one case is reported in Kanti Children's Hospital. Contaminated water is the main cause of cholera and diarrhoea in Kathmandu, doctors said.

The cholera patients, between 3 and 88 years of age, were from Teku, Tahachal, Kalimati, Swayambhu, Baneshwor, Rabibhawan, Dallu, Bhimsengola, Kalanki, and Pinglasthan in Kathmandu, the hospitals involved in the patients' treatment reported.

According to Dr Indra Prasad Prajapati, the hospital director, cholera cases have gone up in 2012 compared to corresponding periods in the preceding years. "Only 8 cases were reported in 2011 during this time," the director said and feared of focal outbreak if the number kept on rising. However, the epidemic could be limited to small focal area with people drinking the same contaminated water, Dr Prajapati said. He further said that 3 of the total cholera cases were based in Swayambhu.

Dr Prajapati said leakage of drainage pipes and water pipelines is mainly responsible for the contamination of water.

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