The Ministry of Health is monitoring cases of cholera in Venezuela and Minister Dr. Leslie Ramsammy said there is no reason to be fearful.
The Venezuelan Health Ministry has confirmed 111 “imported” cases from the Dominican Republic. No deaths have been confirmed. Together with cases in Haiti starting in the 41st epidemiological week in 2010 these are the first large-scale occurrence in the Americas since 1994, Ramsammy said in a statement last evening. The recent Venezuelan cases were a result of guests at a Dominican Republic wedding eating contaminated lobster.
Guyana’s last encounter with cholera was in 1992/93. According to PAHO/WHO figures, 10 deaths were reported and there were 622 cases. The disease had originated in Venezuela.
In the Americas during 2009, seventeen cases of cholera (all imported) were reported from Canada and the USA (12 cases), and Paraguay with a small cluster of 5 cases with no deaths. No significant activity with regards to cholera was reported for 2010 until the situation in earthquake ravaged Haiti developed, he noted.
Dr. Leslie Ramsammy
In the 41st epidemiological week of 2010, Haiti reported an increase of acute diarrhoeal diseases in the Department of Artibonite and in the Central Department. In week 42, the isolation of Vibro cholera O-1 serotype Ogawa was confirmed in a sample of hospitalized patients. Artibonite is traditionally a rice producing district that was overwhelmed by refugees from the earthquake-ravaged capital since January 2010.
During the 47th week, Dominican Republic and the USA reported imported cases of cholera from Haiti while Venezuela now reports 111 imported cases from Dominican Republic. Other cases from the source in Dominican Republic were reported in Mexico, Spain and the United States.
Ramsammy said that his Ministry developed a “Stop Cholera” plan for Guyana and began its implementation in epidemiological week 44. The plan consists of a number of measures including: strengthening port vigilance and border area surveillance for all inbound travelers; upgrading the national syndromic surveillance system to enhance daily reports from sentinel sites around the capital and in strategic areas such as Regions One, Two, Six and Nine; commencing the development and implementation of a revised plan to manage diarrhoeal disease nationally, with emphasis on oral rehydration therapy and management of dehydration; enhancing the capacity of the national laboratory system to test for and confirm cholera from stool samples; stocking all the essential medicines and supplies needed to manage cholera at all health facilities; developing and implementing the plan along with several stakeholders (PAHO/WHO, UNICEF and GWI) to improve sanitation and hygiene nationwide and; developing and implementing an awareness campaign to educate the public on the risk of diarrhoea, management of cases and control measures.
“The Ministry will continue to monitor the situation in the Region and will provide regular feedback on the situation to the media”, Ramsammy said. “I want to (assure) the public the Ministry of Health is being very vigilant. There is no reason for anyone to be fearful”, he added.
