Published Date: 2007-08-25 09:00:10
Subject: PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (28)
Archive Number: 20070825.2789

CHOLERA, DIARRHEA AND DYSENTERY UPDATE 2007 (28)
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In this update:
Africa
[1] Cholera - Guinea
[2] Diarrhea, dysentery - Zimbabwe (Harare)
Asia
[3] Diarrhea, fatal - Nepal (Kalikot)
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[1] Cholera - Guinea
Date: Mon 20 Aug 2007
Source: AllAfrica, UN Integrated Regional Information Networks (IRIN)
report [edited]
<http://allafrica.com/stories/200708201410.html>

Almost 1800 people have been affected by a cholera outbreak in
Guinea, which has caused 67 deaths, according to the UN Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) in Conakry. In the
same period in 2006, just 30 cases of cholera were reported,
resulting in no deaths, according to OCHA.
"The epidemic is quite serious this year [2007], but the government
and humanitarian partners are doing everything they can to treat
cases and prevent the spread of the disease in Guinea," Madeleine
Maka Kaba, OCHA spokesperson told IRIN.
The seafront capital Conakry where 2 million people live, many of
them packed close together in squalid slums without running water or
sanitation, is being hit hardest. 370 of the cases and 18 deaths have
been recorded there.
The epidemic is also hitting hard in other towns and cities around
the country, many of which have had neither piped water, nor
sanitation, nor electricity for several years. In Kindia, 135 km
(about 84 mi) east from Conakry, 46 cases and 6 deaths have been
reported since Sat 18 Aug 2007, when a woman infected with the
disease traveled there from Conakry, according to the Ministry of Health.
Agencies working to prevent the spread of cholera in Guinea include
the Guinean Ministry of Health, OCHA, the World Health Organisation
(WHO), the International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), Medecins
sans Frontieres (MSF), the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), and local
organisations.
In Conakry, the Ministry of Health has set up 3 cholera treatment
centres, with help from UNICEF and MSF, according to Sergio Martin
Esteso, who supervises the centres for MSF. "The Donka centre, the
biggest treatment center in Conakry, has seen 115 cases since 18 Aug
2007," Esteso said.
UNICEF is currently working with the local Conakry government, ICRC
and the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Conakry to
distribute 17 000 bottles of 'Sur Eau,' a water treatment product for
use in individual households, to sections of the city most affected
by the outbreak. UNICEF has made the antimicrobial agent doxycycline
available to the Ministry of Health as well as a ton of disinfectant.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[A map of the country of Guinea can be found at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/guinea.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
******
[2] Diarrhea, dysentery - Zimbabwe (Harare)
Date: Mon 20 Aug 2007
Source: International Herald Tribune, Associated Press report [edited]
<http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/08/20/africa/AF-GEN-Zimbabwe-Shortages.php>

Cases of diarrhea and dysentery have soared to 900 a day in the
Zimbabwean capital with health authorities blaming water shortages,
according to a report Mon 20 Aug 2007, in the official newspaper.
City health director Dr Prosper Chonzi said each of Harare's 60
public clinics were treating an average of 15 water-related
complaints a day, with private doctors dealing with many more, the
Herald newspaper said. No deaths were reported.
State radio said taps ran dry in impoverished townships around Harare
for up to 3 days at a time, forcing householders to search for water
in drains and wells contaminated by collapsing sewerage facilities.
The northern Hatcliffe district, where basic houses were built after
a widely criticized slum clearance operation in 2005, rarely had
running water, according to city health authorities.
Chonzi said 2 years ago that diarrhea cases were uncommon in the city
of 1.5 million people.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[A map of Zimbabwe showing the location of Harare can be found at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/zimbabwe.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
******
[3] Diarrhea, fatal - Nepal (Kalikot)
Date: Tue 21 Aug 2007
Source: People's Daily online, Xinhua News Agency report [edited]
<http://english.people.com.cn/90001/90782/6244914.html>

At least 5 persons, including 2 children have died following an
outbreak of diarrhea in remote western region of Nepal over the last
2 days, reported the local media house's website ekantipur Tue 21 Aug 2007.
With this, the death toll in Kalikot District, some 400 km (about 250
mi) west of the capital city, reached 56 due to diarrhea outbreak
since April 2007.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
[Cholera does occur in Nepal. A map of the mountainous country of
Nepal showing the location of the Kalikot District in the Midwestern
region (between the Far-western and Western regions) can be found at
<http://ncthakur.itgo.com/map04.htm>. - Mod.LL]

See Also

Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (27) 20070819.2708
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (26) 20070810.2603
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (25) 20070804.2537
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (24) 20070720.2326
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (23) 20070622.2024
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (22) 20070615.1959
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (21) 20070604.1804
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
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