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Cholera cases
in Haiti are likely to increase in number and to appear
in new areas of the country, a top Pan American Health
Organization (PAHO) official said this 25 October, in a
press briefing about the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
The Pan
American Health Organization said today that it has
received laboratory confirmation of cases of cholera in
Haiti, in Artibonite province, and is responding to help
the Ministry of Health assess the situation and respond
appropriately to save lives. So far, PAHO has been
informed that more than 1,500 cases of severe diarrhea
and at least 138 deaths have been reported in St. Marc,
Grande Saline, and Mirebalais.
Epidemiologists in action
PAHO has
mobilized epidemiologists and other experts from its
office in Port-au-Prince and from other countries to
help local and national authorities assess and deal with
the event, which marks the first time cholera has
appeared on the island of Hispaniola, shared by Haiti
and the Dominican Republic.
The
organization is collaborating with partners including
the US Centers for Disease Control, US Agency for
International Development, OCHA, Medecins Sans
Frontieres, and other non-government organizations to
combat the outbreak.
The causes
Cholera is an
disease caused by ingestion of food or water
contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. An
acute intestinal infection, it causes severe watery
diarrhea and vomiting, and can quickly lead to severe
dehydration and death. Most cases can be treated with
oral rehydration salts, though more severe cases need
hospitalization with intravenous fluids and appropriate
antibiotics. The goal of treatment is to keep up with
fluid loss caused by diarrhea and vomiting.
Cholera
transmission is closely linked to inadequate
environmental management. Typical at-risk areas include
urban slums, where basic infrastructure is not available,
as well as camps for internally displaced people or
refugees, where minimum requirements of clean water and
sanitation are lacking.
The
consequences of a disaster such as the Haiti earthquake,
including disruption of water and sanitation systems, or
the displacement of populations to inadequate and
overcrowded camps – can increase the risk of cholera
transmission should the bacteria be present or
introduced. Epidemics have never arisen from dead bodies.
Sanitation
measures
“With
good case management, we can prevent people from dying,
perhaps only 1% of cases. However, in areas where there
is no good way of ensuring patients remain adequately
hydrated, death rate or case fatality ratio may rise
substantially, closer to 50%.
Ultimately, we
want to prevent cases by implementing sound water and
sanitation measures, then when cases occur, prevent them
from succumbing to severe dehydration,” said Dr. Jon
Andrus, Deputy Director of PAHO.
Swisslatin (26.10.2010) |
