Published Date: 2005-04-08 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (13)
Archive Number: 20050408.1013
CHOLERA, DIARRHEA & DYSENTERY UPDATE 2005 (13)
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A ProMED-mail post
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In these updates:
Africa
[1] Cholera - Senegal
[2] Cholera - Senegal, Gambia
[3] Cholera - Senegal (Diourbel)
[4] Cholera - Worldwide - WHO WER Notifications
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[1] Cholera - Senegal
Date: Wed, 6 Apr 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Star Online [edited]
<http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2005/4/6/latest/20050406192106&sec=latest>
Cholera epidemic kills 54, infects 3475 in a week in Senegal
-------------------------------------------------
A cholera epidemic that spread throughout Senegal after an annual Muslim
pilgrimage killed 54 and infected 3475, a health ministry official said
Wed, 6 Apr 2005. Since the annual Muslim pilgrimage in Touba on 29 Mar
2005, where the outbreak originated, the number of cholera cases has spread
nationwide and increased substantially, Ousseynou Ba, a senior Health
Ministry official, said: "Over the past week we've had 3475 cases and 54
deaths nationwide.''
Ba also said that the region of Diourbel, the source of the infection,
recorded the highest number of cases, 2389 in all with 25 deaths.
Up to 1.5 million pilgrims flocked to Touba, 200 kilometers east of the
capital, to commemorate the exile of 19th-century religious leader Cheikh
Amadou Bamba, undeterred by a cholera outbreak there. [The grand magal is
the annual festival of an indigenous Senegalese Muslim brotherhood, the
Mourides. - CopyEd.PG]
The last cholera epidemic in Senegal killed 201 people in 1996.
******
[2] Cholera - Senegal, Gambia
Date: Tue, 5 Apr 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AllAfrica.com and IRIN [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200504051175.html>
Senegal: Cholera Epidemic Spreads Nationwide After Touba Pilgrimage
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A cholera epidemic in central Senegal has spread nationwide after more than
a million pilgrims visited the Muslim shrine of Touba last week, and the
number of new cases and recorded deaths has soared, a senior Health
Ministry official said on Tues, 5 Apr 2005.
"During the week from 28 Mar to 3 Apr 2005, nearly 3 400 new cases of
cholera and 54 deaths were registered in the different healthcare districts
throughout Senegal," Pape Coumba Faye, the Director of Preventive Medicine
at the Health Ministry, told IRIN.
Before last week's annual pilgrimage to Touba, a dusty town 200 km east of
the capital Dakar, just over 2000 cases of cholera and 8 deaths had been
registered in the Touba area since the beginning of 2005. But more than a
million Muslim pilgrims descended on the shrine of Cheikh Ahmadou Bamba,
the founder of the Mouride Brotherhood, for the annual pilgrimage, which
reached its climax on 29 to 30 Mar 2005, and many of them appear to have
picked up the water-borne disease and taken it home with them.
The number of new cases soared as people began to gather in Touba, where
fire engines provided extra water for huge crowds of people sleeping out in
the open. According to government statistics, 1800 people caught cholera in
Senegal between 21 and 27 Mar 2005 and 18 died from it. Last week, as the
pilgrims trekked home, the number of new cases doubled.
"Cases of cholera have been recorded throughout the country, mainly in
Djourbel (the region in which Touba is situated), Dakar, Thies and to a
lesser degree Louga," Faye told IRIN. Isolated cases had also been
reported in other areas of the country, he added.
The annual pilgrimage to Touba is also thought to have infected Gambia,
where 3 people are being treated for cholera at the main hospital in the
capital Banjul.
In Dakar, which suffered a cholera outbreak [unrelated to the current
outbreak] between Oct and Dec 2004, about 30 cholera patients per day were
being admitted to the city's university teaching hospital, according to
local press.
******
[3] Cholera - Senegal (Diourbel)
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: WHO Outbreak Reports [edited]
<http://www.who.int/csr/don/2005_04_08/en/>
Cholera in Senegal- update 2
----------------------------
During the week of 28 Mar- 3 Apr 2005, the Ministry of Health, Senegal
reported 3475 cases including 54 deaths (case fatality rate, 1.5 percent)
in the Diourbel region. Of these cases, 1733 cases, including 16 deaths,
were reported in the city of Touba. The increase in the number of cases is
associated with the pilgrimage, "le Magal de Touba," which took place in
the past week, drawing thousands of people to this region (see previous
report). The outbreak appears to be spreading to other regions throughout
the country.
WHO is providing technical support to the Ministry of Health, including
intensification of surveillance, case management and health promotion
activities. Neighboring countries should also intensify their disease
surveillance as well as their prevention and preparedness activities.
******
[4] Cholera - Worldwide - WHO WER Notifications
Date: Fri, 8 Apr 2005
From: Marianne Hopp <mjhopp12@yahoo.com>
Source: WHO Epidemiological Record, 8 Apr 2005 [edited]
<http://www.who.int/wer/2005/wer8014/en>
Notifications of cholera received from 1 to 7 Apr 2005
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country / dates / cases / deaths
Africa
DR of Congo / 10-20 Mar 2005 / 183 / 2
Senegal / 24-27 Mar 2005 / 379 / 4
Zimbabwe / 23 Feb-20 Mar 2005 / 9 / 1
Asia
India / 1 Jan-19 Feb / 57 / 0
--
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
See Also
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (12) 20050404.0966Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (11) 20050328.0899
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (10) 20050318.0789
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (09) 20050311.0714
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (08) 20050304.0662
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (07) 20050225.0598
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (06) 20050215.0512
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (05) 20050204.0384
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (04) 20050128.0308
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (03) 20050123.0240
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (02) 20050119.0174
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (01) 20050108.0060
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