Published Date: 2005-02-16 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (06)
Archive Number: 20050216.0521
VIRAL GASTROENTERITIS UPDATE 2005 (06)
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In this update:
[1] Rotavirus - El Salvador, alert
[2] Rotavirus, suspected - Russia (Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region)
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[1] Rotavirus - El Salvador, alert
Date: Fri 11 Feb 2005
From: Jaime Torres <torresj@post.com>
Source: Fuente: Europa Press, Tue 8 Feb 2005 [translated by Mod.JGM, edited]
<http://www.europapress.es>
El Salvador: rotavirus emergency declared
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15 children have died since the beginning of this year [2005] in El
Salvador because of rotavirus-related diarrheal disease. This led the
government to decree an emergency in 3 of the 14 departments in the
country, aiming to arrest the death toll.
These figures reflect an accelerated increase in diarrheal disease
cases in infants, but, according to "El Faro," a local newspaper, the
Ministry of Health indicated that [it would be necessary] to wait for
2 more weeks to see whether the outbreak is increasing or decreasing.
The emergency service of the only specialized hospital for sick
children in El Salvador, Bloom Hospital, has been under stress
because of the large number of children admitted due to diarrheal
disease. The emergency has been decreed in San Salvador (where the
capital city is located), La Libertad, and La Paz departments, and
all of them are in the central region of the country.
According to the Ministry of Health and Public Assistance (MSAP,
Ministerio de Salud y Asistencia Publica), the number of cases of
diarrheal disease in infants is over 40 000. In January 2003, 5
children died, and 2580 cases were treated at Bloom Hospital,
sufficient to define the outbreak as an epidemic. Last year [2004],
the number of diarrheal disease cases reached 18 200; and from the
beginning of 2005, diarrheal disease has taken the lives of 15
children. According to MSAP, 67 percent of diarrheal disease cases
reported until now have been caused by rotavirus. This disease
spreads because of inadequate fecal waste disposal, use of
contaminated water, inappropriate hygiene habits and inadequate food
processing. Rotaviruses are more virulent in newborns and in infants
less than 2 years old.
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[An appeal from the Salvadoran American Humanitarian Foundation
(SAHF) for support in reducing the extent of rotavirus infection in
children in El Salvador was posted in the preceding update; see:
Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (05) 20050205.0398. - Mod.CP]
******
[2] Rotavirus, suspected - Russia (Kotlas, Arkhangelsk region)
Date: Wed 16 Feb 2005
From: Natalia Pchenitchnaia <crane@aaanet.ru>
Source: DvinaInform News Agency online, Wed 16 Feb 2005 [translated
from Russian, edited]
<http://www.dvinainform.ru/news/2005/02/16/21446.shtml>
Russia: suspected rotavirus outbreak in city of Kotlas (Arkhangelsk region)
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Since 24 Jan 2005, 42 children have fallen ill with symptoms of
intestinal infection in the city of Kotlas in the Arkhangelsk region,
of whom, 28 have been hospitalized in the Infectious Diseases
Department of the City Hospital in serious or relatively serious
condition. The children were predominantly between one and 2 years of
age. All the affected children exhibited the same symptoms: vomiting,
diarrhea, and high temperature. The majority of the sick children
were from kindergarten. In response, the City of Kotlas Health
Department implemented quarantine measures in pre-school
establishments. Samples of products and swabs from utensils used by
affected children are being examined. The preliminary diagnosis is
acute intestinal infection. Preliminary tests have not revealed
evidence of bacterial infection, and the outbreak is now considered
to be a viral infection. The most likely cause of the outbreak is
considered to be exposure to rotatavirus via a contaminated water
supply. Hyper-chlorinaion of the city water supply is being
undertaken urgently to eliminate the source of the infection.
[Byline: Anna Kreneva]
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[A similar outbreak of suspected rotavirus infection, also attributed to a
contaminated water supply, was reported recently in the city of Novodvinsk
[see: Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (04) 20050130.0325]. The cities of
Kotlas and Novodvinsk are both located in the Arkhangelsk region, in the
[far] northwest of the European part of Russia. - Mod.NP]
[Due to the abundance of virus particles in the feces of rotavirus-infected
children, confirmation of a preliminary diagnosis could be obtained rapidly
by electron microscopy. - Mod.CP]
See Also
Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (05) 20050205.0398Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (04) 20050130.0325
Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (03) 20050123.0245
Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (02) 20050115.0126
Viral gastroenteritis update 2005 (01) 20050109.0070
2004
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Viral gastroenteritis update 2004 (01) 20040117.0182
Viral gastroenteritis update 2004 (37) 20041230.3447
2003
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Viral gastroenteritis update 2002 - (04) 20030101.0005
Viral gastroenteritis update 2003 (28) 20031227.3141
2002
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Norwalk-like virus, decontamination methods 20020615.4497
Norwalk-like virus, decontamination methods (02) 20020617.4519
....................jw/cp/msp/jw
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