Reuters AlertNet – Iraq cholera outbreak slows – health ministry
Foreword:
This report from Reuters is a perfect example of why neither I nor any other practising doctor – the few of us still in Irak, treats with extreme care any data supplied by either the green zone government Health ministry or the Health Directorates in the governorates.
WHO report 4356 laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera This represents an increase of 585 laboratory confirmed cases of cholera since the last situation report on this cholera outbreak from the WHO (Sitrep 25).
As of 21 October 2007 (week 42), 24 districts of Northern Iraq and 15 districts in the south and centre have reported laboratory-confirmed cases of cholera.
That is from this posting made by me earlier today. The data in that posting comes from WHO’s situation report 29 and dates from October 21st. There is always a time lag in when reported cases and deaths show up in the WHO data. Even allowing for that time lag an increase of 88 cannot by any stretch of the imagination be called good news.
Maryam
BAGHDAD, Oct 30 (Reuters) – The spread of cholera in Iraq is slowing thanks to health measures taken to curb an outbreak of the disease, the health ministry said on Tuesday.
Cholera has killed 22 people since an outbreak in the northern province of Kirkuk in August and there have been 4,444 confirmed cases, almost exclusively in northern regions.
"The rate of increase is very slow. October was better than September. Thanks to the monitoring of the disease and health awareness campaigns among citizens the situation has became better," a health ministry spokeswoman said.
Cholera is characterised in its most severe form by a sudden onset of acute watery diarrhoea that can cause death by severe dehydration and kidney failure within hours. The virulent disease is mainly transmitted through water and food.
With 2,968 cases and five deaths, Kirkuk province has been the epicentre of the outbreak. In neighbouring Sulaimaniya, 14 people have died and 1,217 cases have been recorded. In nearby Arbil province there have been 224 cases, the spokeswoman said.
RESTAURANTS, WATER SOURCES
Health officials in Kirkuk said on Tuesday they were still monitoring places such as restaurants and water sources to try and prevent cholera making a comeback.
"The disease is going down. On Oct. 29 we received three cases," said Doctor Sabah al-Dawoudi, head of the health department in Kirkuk. "At the outbreak of the disease we were receiving more than 50 cases a day."
Across Iraq, television stations have been broadcasting advice from officials on how to avoid the disease. In Baghdad, leaflets have been handed out at army checkpoints and schools were making pupils aware of the risks.
In Sulaimaniya, most measures have been lifted but officials are monitoring juice stalls to make sure they use mineral water and restaurants are not allowed to serve salads or tap water.
"We are about to root out the epidemic completely from the Kurdistan region," Zairyan Othman, health minister in Kurdistan, told Reuters.
"At the outbreak of the disease, there were 200-250 cases of diarrhoea and vomiting at hospitals in Sulaimaniya. In Arbil it was less, there were 100 or fewer each day, in Kirkuk, 150-200. But the rate has decreased gradually. In the last 24 hours there were 10 cases in the region." said Othman. (Additional reporting by Sherko Raouf in Sulaimaniya and Mustafa Mahmoud in Kirkuk)
Reuters AlertNet – Iraq cholera outbreak slows – health ministry
[...] In the light of Maryam’s concerns that data about this outbreak is being manipulated for political reasons … Khalil Ibn Hussein on Cholera Sitrep_29Gorilla’s Guides » Blog Archive » Reuters AlertNet – Iraq cholera outbreak slows -… on Cholera Sitrep_29Maryam on Cholera Sitrep_29 [...]
[...] Iraq cholera outbreak slows – health ministry The spread of cholera in Iraq is slowing thanks to health measures taken to curb an outbreak of the disease, the health ministry said on Tuesday. Cholera has killed 22 people since an outbreak in the northern province of Kirkuk in August and there have been 4,444 confirmed cases, almost exclusively in northern regions. [...]