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Published Date: 2005-08-19 23:50:00
Subject: PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2005 (32)
Archive Number: 20050819.2441

CHOLERA, DIARRHEA & DYSENTERY UPDATE 2005 (32)
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In this update:
Asia
[1] & [2] Cholera - Iran
[3] Cholera - South Korea ex Myanmar
[4] Cholera - China (Hong Kong SAR) ex Indonesia
[5] Cholera - Nepal (Doti)
[6] Cholera - Myanmar (Shan)
Africa
[7] Cholera - Liberia (Sinoe)
[8] Cholera - Uganda (Arua)
[9] Cholera - Guinea-Bissau
[10] Cholera - Guinea-Bissau, Guinea
[11] Cholera - Burkina Faso (Ouagandougou)
[12] Cholera - Congo DR (Goma)
[13] Cholera - Worldwide - WHO WER Notifications
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[1] Cholera - Iran
Date: Mon, 15 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/OLI540922.htm>

Cholera spreads to 13 Iranian provinces, 403 cases
------------------------------------------------
A cholera outbreak in Iran has spread quickly to 13 provinces across the
whole country, a UN official said on Mon, 15 Aug 2005, adding that 5 people
had died out of the 403 who had contracted the disease. Just over a week
ago, Iran reported 56 cases.
Mubashar Sheikh, Iran representative of the WHO, said the UN agency would
send out an expert on 16 Aug 2005 to appraise the situation. "It is
rapidly spreading," he said. "It is becoming pretty widespread. From my
perspective, it is not something to panic about but we are taking it
seriously," he added.
The WHO declared Iran cholera free in 1996, but the disease, spread through
contaminated food and water, later returned, with officials reporting
outbreaks in 2000 and 2001.
--
ProMED-mail
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[2] Cholera - Iran
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: IranFocus.com [edited]
<http://www.iranfocus.com/modules/news/article.php?storyid=3373>

Cholera scare leaves Iran's spa town deserted
---------------------------------------------
Cholera scare has left a popular spa town in northern Iran deserted at the
height of the tourist season, according to the local press. The reported
outbreak of cholera in the town of Sareyn in the Caspian province of
Ardebil has forced the authorities to shut down restaurants, hotels and
guesthouses in the famous spa resort.
The price of bottled water has soared in Iran since the cholera scare began
in Jul 2005. The outbreak of the deadly disease has now spread to more than
20 cities and provinces throughout Iran and has claimed at least 8 lives,
the state-owned news agency, ISNA, reported on Thu, 18 Aug 2005. The
number of those infected by the bacterium has now reached 626.
The Iranian capital, Tehran, has seen the greatest outbreak, with 169
confirmed cases so far. The city of Qom, south of Tehran, where the 1st
outbreak of cholera was reported, has been badly affected, with 142
confirmed cases. The disease has infected 94 people in Hamedan, western
Iran, 85 people in the northern province of Golestan, and 72 people in the
western city of Qazvin.
Health experts believe that the new outbreak of cholera was caused by
contaminated water reservoirs. The last reported outbreak of cholera in
Iran was in 1996.
--
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[3] Cholera - South Korea ex Myanmar
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org.
Source: Korea Times [edited]
<http://times.hankooki.com/lpage/nation/200508/kt2005081722213411990.htm>

Man Found Infected With Cholera
-------------------------------
A South Korean traveler from Myanmar has been confirmed to have contracted
cholera, health officials of Taejon City said Wed, 17 Aug 2005. The man,
52, showed the choleric symptom of diarrhea when he arrived at Incheon
International Airport on Sun, 14 Aug 2005, the officials said. He later
tested positive for the infectious disease.
The man's diarrhea started Sat, 13 Aug 2005, after eating rice noodles and
drinking underground water in the Southeast Asian country, they said. 14
others in his group tour were to receive medical examinations for possible
infection.
South Korea has been free of cholera outbreaks, but travelers each year
have been infected overseas. This was the 4th such patient in 2005. There
were 10 in 2004.
--
ProMED-mail
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[4] Cholera - China (Hong Kong SAR) ex Indonesia
Date: Sat, 13 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: News.gov.hk [edited]
<http://www.news.gov.hk/en/category/healthandcommunity/050813/html/050813en05002.htm>

Imported cholera case confirmed
-------------------------------
The Centre for Health Protection has confirmed an imported cholera case
involving a 23-year-old woman, bringing 2005's total so far to 4. The
patient fell ill in Indonesia and arrived in Hong Kong on 5 Aug 2005. She
was admitted to Princess Margaret Hospital in stable condition.
Of the 4 cases, 1 has been classified local and 2 imported, while the
remaining case is pending classification.
--
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[5] Cholera - Nepal (Doti)
Date: Sun, 14 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: The Himalayan Times [edited]
<http://www.thehimalayantimes.com/fullstory.asp?filename=6a7Za5maxamal&folder=aHaoamW&Name=Home&dtSiteDate=20050814>

Diarrhea claims 4 lives in Doti
--------------------------------
Diarrhea has claimed 4 lives and more than 2 dozen others have taken ill in
Banlekha VDC of Doti district in a week, according to the District Public
Health Office (DPHO). The DPHO said the patients died when locals kept
them in a cave suspecting them to have contracted cholera. The outbreak of
diarrhea has affected the people in wards 4, 6 and 8 of Banlekha VDC, 25 km
away from the district headquarters, Siligadhi.
The epidemic spread due to lack of clean drinking water, said Sabitri
Gurung, coordinator of a health programme supported by the GT-Zed. The
locals had kept the patients in the cave due to ignorance.
A group of health workers from the DPHO reached Banlekha village yesterday,
13 Aug 2005. Dr Sher Bahadur Chand of the DPHO said they are trying to
bring the epidemic under control.
--
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[6] Cholera - Myanmar (Shan)
Date: Fri, 5 Aug 2005
From: Shirley Bannatyne <shirley.bannatyne@masta.org>
Source: Democratic Voice of Burma edited]
<http://english.dvb.no/news.php?id=5334>

Cholera outbreak at Lashio in northern Shan State
-------------------------------------------------
Many people have been hospitalized at Lashio in Burma's northern Shan
State, due to a recent outbreak of cholera. Local residents told DVB that
people are suffering from cholera and other illnesses because of food
poisoning or "eating the wrong kinds of food" and extreme weather. People
have been warned not to eat pork in particular, and the authorities have
been confiscating seasonal fruits such as pineapples and jackfruits, and
banned their sales.
Chinese authorities in neighboring Yunnan State are preventing all fruits
and vegetables coming from eastern Burma.
--
Shirley Bannatyne
MASTA (Medical Advisory Service for Travellers Abroad)
<shirley.bannatyne@masta.org>
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[7] Cholera - Liberia (Sinoe)
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/IRIN/3a603c89629e1ed8e713ab0753a=385c7.htm>

Cholera epidemic kills 134 in south-east
-------------------------------------
The death toll from a cholera epidemic raging in south-eastern Sinoe County
has leapt to 134, up from just 29 a week ago, Liberia's Health Minister
Peter Coleman said. The outbreak is near diamond-rich Butaw town, 30 km
north of the county capital Greenville, which has attracted thousands of
illegal miners, who live in makeshift camps in the area.
"These camps are death traps with deplorable conditions, where people live
without safe drinking water," Coleman told a press conference on Wed, 17
Aug 2005.
A health ministry assessment team found some 20 000 illegal miners in 5
camps in Sinoe, Coleman said, calling for the camps to be evacuated to
prevent cholera outbreaks "of a greater magnitude."
The UN World Health Organisation (WHO) and Medecins sans Frontieres are
working to contain the epidemic of the water-borne disease, which can
quickly cause severe dehydration leading to death.
An official from WHO told IRIN last week that heavy rains caused drinking
water around Butaw to become contaminated with fecal matter and expressed
concern over whether the bodies of cholera victims were being disposed of
properly.
--
ProMED-mail
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[8] Cholera - Uganda (Arua)
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: AllAfrica.com and The Monitor (Kampala) [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200508180871.html>

Cholera Cases Rise to 290 in Arua
---------------------------------
Arua district has registered 290 cases of cholera in 2 months. The latest
admission at Oli Health Centre was on Mon, 15 Aug 2005, and most of the
victims are women and children.
The epidemic that broke out in the district on 16 Jun 2005 in Rigbo
sub-county had by 16 Aug 2005 killed at least 26 people, the District
Director of Health Services, Dr Patrick Anguzu, said on Wed, 17 Aug 2005.
13 of the people died in health facilities while the others died in their
homes. The new cases are mainly being recorded at Kenya Ward in Arua
municipality. Other cases are being recorded in Driwala and Alengo areas in
Pajulu sub-county.
Arua is 1 of the 11 districts hit by the new cholera strain. Although the
Ministry of Health has not announced the new [strain] that is ravaging the
district, online medical journals from the Medical and Public Health
Schools of Harvard University indicate that the cholera strain that is more
resistant to [treatment is] _Vibrio cholerae_ serogroup O1 El Tor. The
other type is _Vibrio cholerae_ O139.
[Byline: Tabu Butagira]
--
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[9] Cholera - Guinea-Bissau
Date: Wed, 17 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Angola Press [edited]
<http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=366440>

Cholera kills 112 in Guinea-Bissau
---------------------------------
Cholera has claimed some 112 lives since the 1st case was reported in
Guinea-Bissau in mid June, Tome Ca, director-general of epidemiology at the
health ministry, told reporters here Tue, 16 Aug 2005.
He said some 6600 cases have been reported, while up to 70 were being
admitted daily in Simao Mendes, the biggest complex in Bissau. The epidemic
has affected 7 regions and only 2 are still being spared.
--
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******
[10] Cholera - Guinea-Bissau, Guinea
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail <promed@promedmail.org>
Source: Reuters [edited]
<http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L16101461.htm>

Cholera kills 147 in Guinea and Guinea-Bissau
----------------------------------------------
Cholera has killed 147 people in Guinea-Bissau and neighboring Guinea since
Jun 2005 and infected more than 7000 others, health officials in the 2
countries said on Tue, 16 Aug 2005. The waterborne disease, which can
quickly cause severe dehydration and death, is a recurring problem in West
Africa, particularly during heavy rainy seasons.
"The cholera outbreak has killed 112 people in Guinea-Bissau out of 6600
registered cases," Tome Ca, a health ministry official, told reporters in
the capital Bissau. He said up to 70 people were being admitted into the
city's main hospital every day, with many patients having to sleep on the
floor because of a lack of beds.
Separately, a doctor in Guinea's capital Conakry said 35 people had died of
cholera among a total of 733 cases recorded across the country since Jun
2005. Emmanuel Rolland Malano, head of the anti-cholera unit at Guinea's
health ministry, said Conakry was the worst hit area, with the disease
spreading at a worrying rate.
--
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[11] Cholera - Burkina Faso (Ouagadougou)
Date: Tue, 16 Aug 2005
From: Alfonso Rodriguez
Source: Yahoo News UK [edited]
<http://uk.news.yahoo.com/16082005/323/cholera-epidemic-continues-four-dead-burkina-faso.html>

Cholera epidemic continues with 4 dead in Burkina Faso
----------------------------------------------
The cholera outbreak in the capital of Burkina Faso, Ouagadougou, has left
4 dead and at least 75 ill, according to government figures. The outbreak
was announced publicly on Sat, 13 Aug 2005, and on Sun, 14 Aug, an official
tally put the number of cases at 41, with 3 fatalities.
"All zones of the capital have been touched, and the district of Pissy (at
the capital's southern periphery) accounts for more than 2/3 of the cases,"
said Sylvestre Tiendrebeogo, head of the disease monitoring unit at the
Yalgado hospital in Ouagadougou.
During news bulletins, public radio and television reported the official
tallies but urged the public to "stay calm" while providing information
about how to avoid infection.
Health authorities insisted on "the gravity of the situation" and
dispatched mobile health teams to affected areas in an effort to disinfect
the homes of the sick. Doctors banned visitors from entering a secluded
area of the Yalgado hospital where those diagnosed with cholera were
receiving free treatment.
--
Alfonso Rodriguez, MD

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[12] Cholera - Congo DR (Goma)
Date: Thu, 18 Aug 2005
From: ProMED-mail
Source: eTaiwanNews.com [edited]
<http://www.etaiwannews.com/World/2005/08/18/1124330837.htm>

Cholera epidemic declared in Democratic Republic of Congo
-----------------------------------
A cholera epidemic has been declared in the eastern Congo DR town of Goma
following a sharp rise in new cases, the UN Office for the Coordination of
Humanitarian Affairs said.
Contaminated water is the main cause of cholera, and in Goma the water
authority operates on a fee basis and covers only 20 percent of the town's
needs, said the UN office known as OCHA.
It gave no figures Tue, 16 Aug 2005, on the number of cholera cases in
Goma, which is on the border with Rwanda.
--
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[13]Cholera - Worldwide - WHO WER Notifications
Date: Fri, 19 Aug 2005
From: Marianne Hopp
Source: WHO Epidemiological Record, 19 Aug 2005 2005 [edited]
<http://www.who.int/wer/2005/wer8033/en>

Notifications of cholera received from 12 to 18 Aug 2005
---------------------------------------------------
country / dates / cases / deaths
Africa
Burundi / 24 Jun-11 Aug 2005 / 34 / 1
Guinea / 12 Jun-24 Jul 2005 / 208 / 6
Congo DR / 16 May-31 Jul 2005 / 896 / 40
Guinea-Bissau / 29 Jul-8 Aug 2005 / 1377 / 10
Niger / 13 Jul 2005 / 93 / 10
Senegal / 1-7 Aug 2005 / 439 / 1
Asia
Iran / 1-8 Aug 2005/ 68 / 1
--
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