CHOLERA, DIARRHEA AND DYSENTERY UPDATE 2007 (37)
CHOLERA, DIARRHEA AND DYSENTERY UPDATE 2007 (37)
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A ProMED-mail post
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ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
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In this update:
Asia
[1] Cholera - Iraq (northern): WHO situation report
[2] Cholera - India (Haryana)
Africa
[3] Cholera, possible - South Africa (Eastern Cape)
[4] Cholera, possibly not - South Africa (Eastern Cape)
[5] Shigellosis - Congo DR (Kasai Occidental)
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[1] Cholera - Iraq (northern): WHO situation report
Date: Sun 16 Sep 2007
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA),
ReliefWeb, WHO report [edited]
<
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-775DJH?OpenDocument>
[This report from 16 Sep 2007 (the full report can be found at
<
http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/LSGZ-775DJH/$File/Full_Report.pdf>)
does not report any more affected districts or provinces and the total
number of cases of diarrheal disease is the same as reported from the WHO
Epidemic and Pandemic Alert and Response (EPR) disease outbreak news from
14 Sep 2007 <
http://www.who.int/csr/don/2007_09_14/en/index.html>, which
was posted in ProMED-mail Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (36)
20070914.3050.
The difference from the last situational report (12 Sep 2007), which was
also posted in the last ProMED-mail cholera update, was updated in the EPR
report. The only new data related to the total number of laboratory
confirmed cases of cholera shown below
Province / confirmed cases 12 Sep 2007 EPR / confirmed cases 14 Sep 2007 EPR
Sulaymaniyah / 302 / 339
Kirkuk / 482 / 717
Erbil / 33 / 41
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[2] Cholera - India (Haryana)
Date: Sat 15 Sep 2007
Source: Express India [edited]
<
http://www.expressindia.com/latest-news/Cholera-claims-three-in-Ambala/217109/>
A total of 3 people, including a woman, died of cholera on Fri 14 Sep 2007.
According to the health department, the disease has spread in about a half
dozen colonies in Ambala Cantonment. Besides, more than 50 people
complained of acute vomiting and diarrhea, 35 of whom were admitted to
hospital.
The 3 adult victims were all residents of Alu Godam and Teli Mandi in
Ambala Cantt. Of the 35 admitted to the hospital, 2 were reported to be in
critical condition and were referred to PGI. Chief medical officer VK
Sharma said a team of doctors has been sent to the affected areas. He said
contaminated water supplied through underground pipes seems to be the cause
of the disease.
In August 2007, about 500 people were reported sick with the similar
disease in Noorpur village under the Ambala subdivision.
[byline: DN Divakar]
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[Ambala is a city in the Ambala district, the state of Haryana, in northern
India. The city is located on the border of the states of Haryana and
Punjab. The state can be found on a map at
<
http://www.globalsecurity.org/military/world/india/images/india-states-map2.gif>.
- Mod.LL]
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[3] Cholera, possible - South Africa (Eastern Cape)
Date: Sat 15 Sep 2007
Source: News24 [edited]
<
http://www.news24.com/News24/South_Africa/News/0,,2-7-1442_2184473,00.html>
An Eastern Cape Health Department task team has been sent to Queenstown
after an apparent cholera outbreak at Ilinge Township, the SABC (South
Africa Broadcasting Corporation) reported on Sat 15 Sep 2007.
The SABC said there were reports that sewerage had been flooding the
township since last week and several people had contracted diarrhea.
"Officials from Chris Hani District municipality have started treating
drinking water with bleach," said the SABC.
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[This outbreak is not clearly defined as cholera and is refuted in the next
post. Although no cases of cholera were reported to WHO in 2006, outbreaks
of cholera have occurred in the past in the country including in the
Eastern Cape. Earlier this year (2007), _Vibrio cholerae_ was isolated from
river water in Northern Cape province (Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update
2007 (15)
20070406.1157). A map of the country can be found at
<
http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/southafr.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
******
[4] Cholera, possibly not - South Africa (Eastern Cape)
Date: Mon 17 Sep 2007
Source: Daily Dispatch [edited]
<
http://www.dispatch.co.za/2007/09/17/Easterncape/achol.html>
Reports of a cholera outbreak at Queenstown's Ilinge Township were
unfounded, tests on the township's water sources have shown. A team of
health environmental officers visited the township over the weekend [15-16
Sep 2007] after media reports of water contamination and the presence of
cholera. Health Department spokesperson, Sizwe Kupelo, said: "There was
panic when 54 Ilinge community members ... were treated for mild diarrhea.
This caused the scare." Chris Hani District municipality started treating
drinking water with bleach but it proved unnecessary.
[byline: Ntando Makhubu]
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[This report, refuting the initial diagnosis of cholera, appears to be
based on the lack of _V. cholerae_ isolation from the water supply and the
relative clinical mildness of the cases. Whether this is or is not cholera
depends primarily on whether the stool cultures from affected individuals
were positive for _V. cholerae_. - Mod.LL]
******
[5] Shigellosis - Congo DR (Kasai Occidental)
Date: Wed 12 Sep 2007
Source: Agence France-Presse (AFP) [edited]
<
http://afp.google.com/article/ALeqM5hHEj3K2lTTGaARJHL1yDKskgGSQA>
The WHO on Wed 12 Sep 2007 confirmed that a shigella strain of infectious
dysentery is present alongside the deadly Ebola virus in the central
Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC). Laboratory tests confirmed the presence
of _Shigella dysenteriae_ type 1 among some 372 suspected cases of Ebola in
the western Kasai region in the past 4 months, WHO spokeswoman Fadela Chaib
told AFP.
The DRC's Ministry of Health said earlier this week that the Ebola outbreak
has caused 166 deaths, but WHO said that laboratory tests have so far
confirmed just 5 Ebola deaths. The discovery of shigella is "further
complicating operations," said WHO.
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[_S. dysenteriae_ has a number of recognized serotypes, of which serotype 1
attracts special attention for its epidemic-causing potential, the Shiga
toxin it produces, and its association with most serious complications. The
location of western Kasai (Kasai Occidental) can be found on a map at
<
http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/drcongo.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
[see also:
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (36)
20070914.3050
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (35)
20070912.3023
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (34)
20070910.2989
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (33)
20070908.2965
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (32)
20070904.2911
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (31)
20070903.2901
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (30)
20070830.2856
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (20)
20070511.1509
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (10)
20070302.0737
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (05)
20070202.0418
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (01)
20070105.0047
2006
---
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (52)
20061229.3646
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (50)
20061215.3528
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (40)
20061006.2862
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (30)
20060724.2037
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (20)
20060512.1352
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (10)
20060303.0675
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2006 (01)
20060106.0040]
...............ll/mj/sh
