Published Date: 2008-02-29 23:00:18
Subject: PRO/EDR> Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (13)
Archive Number: 20080229.0830
CHOLERA, DIARRHEA & DYSENTERY UPDATE 2008 (13)
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In this update:
Africa
[1] Cholera - Kenya (North Eastern)
[2] Cholera - Somalia (Gedo)
[3] Cholera - Zambia
[4] Cholera - Angola (Huila)
Asia
[5] Diarrhea, fatal - Philippines (Eastern Samar)
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[1] Cholera - Kenya (North Eastern)
Date: Fri 29 Feb 2008
Source: Reuters Africa [edited]
<http://africa.reuters.com/top/news/usnBAN948438.html>
Cholera has killed 43 people in the last 2 weeks along the remote
border between Kenya and Somalia, officials in both nations said on
Friday [29 Feb 2008].
Abubakar Abdi, a public health official in Kenya's Mandera District
[in the North Eastern Province of Kenya, bordering Somalia -
CopyEd.MJ], said 30 people, including at least 6 children, had died
there from the water-borne disease in a fortnight [14 days]. Meat
exports to Somalia and Ethiopia were banned, he said.
On the Somali side of the border, a staff member with the Irish
charity Trocaire said 13 people had died from 676 suspected cases,
257 of which had needed hospital treatment.
--
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[A map of Eastern Africa showing the Somalia-Kenya border can be found at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/eastafr.pdf>. - Mod.LL
Mandera in the North Eastern Province can be located on the map of Kenya at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/kenya.pdf>. - CopyEd.MJ]
******
[2] Cholera - Somalia (Gedo)
Date: Tue 26 Feb 2008
Source: BBC News [edited]
<http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7265443.stm>
About 70 people have died in a severe outbreak of cholera in southern
Somalia, close to the Kenyan border town of Mandera, reports say. At
least 400 people have been affected and drought conditions are
aggravating the problem.
People affected on the Kenyan side of the border are getting medical
aid but almost none is available in Somalia, says the BBC's reporter
in the region. Local non-government organisations have appealed for
international help.
The crisis is affecting Somalia's Gedo region, where people interact
with their Kenyan neighbors across the border in Mandera, the BBC's
Bashkash Jugsodaay says.
Health personnel are helping sufferers on the Kenyan side and
spreading information about how the illness can be contracted from
dirty water. However, in Gedo, the lack of medical facilities is
making the situation unbearable, our reporter says. The handful of
NGOs in the area are unable to provide enough support and fear the
situation might get out of control, he adds.
--
Communicated by:
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[A map of the area can be found at the source URL. A map of Somalia
showing the Gedo region can be found also at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/somalia.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
******
[3] Cholera - Zambia
Date: Thu 28 Feb 2008
Source: UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs
(OCHA), ReliefWeb, United Nations Children's Fund (UNICEF) report
[edited]
<http://www.reliefweb.int/rw/RWB.NSF/db900SID/SHIG-7CAHAP?OpenDocument>
The cholera situation in Mwense district of Luapula Province is under
control. No new patients have been recorded since 15 Feb 2008. Lusaka
District continues to report cases of cholera in high-density
settlements (Chipata Overspill, Chaisa, George (Zone 3), and Matero).
Cumulatively 71 patients have been treated for cholera in Lusaka in
the last 30 days; no deaths have been recorded. In Kitwe district
(Copperbelt Province), 35 cases of watery diarrhea have been recorded
with 6 confirmed as cholera.
UNICEF is responding to all 3 cholera zones by supporting MOH
(Ministry of Health) assessments and providing zinc tablets,
ciprofloxacilin, sodium lactate, glucose hyperton, ORS (oral
rehydration solution), cannulas, and latex examination gloves to
District Epidemic Preparedness Committees.
Although heavy rains are forecast until end March [2008] in the
northern part of Zambia, floodwaters are receding in the Southern
parts of the country, raising the risk of disease outbreaks,
diarrhea, cholera, and malaria, especially from highly contaminated
water sources and standing water.
--
Communicated by:
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[A map of Zambia showing the areas mentioned can be found at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/zambia.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
******
[4] Cholera - Angola (Huila)
Date: Wed 27 Feb 2008
Source: Angola Press (ANGOP) [edited]
<http://www.angolapress-angop.ao/noticia-e.asp?ID=598792>
In the past 24 hours, 10 new cholera cases were detected by the
Services of Public Health and Control to Endemic Diseases in southern
Huila province, in Lubango city and in Quipungo district, without any
deaths.
ANGOP learnt of the fact from the head of the referred division,
Bernabe Lemos, who informed that from the cases 9 were diagnosed in
Lubango and one in Quipungo, whilst the localities of Chibia and
Matala, other regions of the province greatly affected by the
disease, did not report any new cases.
Bernabe Lemos stated that at the moment 31 patients have been
hospitalized with the disease: 27 at the Treatment Centre of
the Central Hospital of Lubango Dr Agostinho Neto, 3 in Matala, and
one in Quipungo.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[Huila is a land-locked province in southwestern Angola and can be
found on a map at
<http://www.un.org/Depts/Cartographic/map/profile/angola.pdf>. - Mod.LL]
******
[5] Diarrhea, fatal - Philippines (Eastern Samar)
Date: Sun 24 Feb 2008
Source: Inquirer Network [edited]
<http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/breakingnews/regions/view/20080224-120891/Diarrhea-cases-surge-in-flood-hit-Eastern-Samar>
At least 178 persons from the flooded city and towns of Eastern Samar
were reported to be suffering from diarrhea, according to reports
collated by the Office of Civil Defense in Eastern Visayas. The death
toll due to flooding reached 18, the report released on Sunday [24
Feb 2008] said.
The city of Borongan and the towns of Maydolong and Dolores, the
report said, had the highest number of fatalities with 3 each. The
rest of the dead were from the towns of Jipapad, Gen. MacArthur,
Taft, Can-avid, San Julian, all in Eastern Samar; Pinabacdao in
Samar; Dulag and Palo, both in Leyte; and Culaba in Biliran. The
death toll is expected to climb as more reports from affected towns
are received, said operation chief Rey Gozon.
As flooding spawned by the relentless rain continued, diarrhea cases
also rose, said Gozon. He said that diarrhea cases were detected in
practically all localities in Eastern Samar, with Borongan City
having 38 people afflicted with diarrhea, the highest number of cases
among all areas in the province. The other towns in the province,
which had double-digit cases of diarrhea were Can-avid, 15; Llorente,
14; Guiuan, 14; Balangkayan, 13; and Taft, 10.
[Byline: Joey A Gabieta]
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
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[What appears to be a high case fatality rate, for instance, 3 of 38
in the capital Borongan City suggests cholera as an etiology.
The province of Eastern Samar lies on Samar Island, the largest
island in the Visayas (all the islands in the middle of the
Philippine archipelago between Luzon to the north and Mindanao to the
south). The island is divided into 3 provinces: Samar (previously
Western Samar), Northern Samar, and Eastern Samar. Together with the
provinces Leyte, Southern Leyte, and Biliran they form the region
known as the Eastern Visayas. They can be found on a map at
<http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Eastern_Samar>.
The outbreaks discussed in this update can also be found on the
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map at
<http://www.healthmap.org/promed>. - Mod.LL]
See Also
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (12) 20080223.0742Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (11) 20080218.0647
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (10) 20080212.0563
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (09) 20080206.0486
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (08) 20080201.0411
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (07) 20080128.0359
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (06) 20080122.0274
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (05) 20080118.0227
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (04) 20080114.0182
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (03) 20080111.0152
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (02) 20080108.0104
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2008 (01) 20080104.0047
2007
----
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (67) 20071231.4200
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (60) 20071126.3824
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (50) 20071023.3450
Cholera, diarrhea & dysentery update 2007 (40) 20070924.3164
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 (01) 20070105.0047
2006
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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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