Tuesday, October 29, 2013
South Asian Cholera Strain Spreading
A South Asian strain of Cholera was discovered in Haiti and the Domincan Republic three years ago, now it is not isolated in the Caribbean Islands. It was discovered in Mexico on September 9th. Cholera, once present in the water - especially in areas with poor sanitation, is very hard get rid of. Haiti and the Domincan Republic's case of this strain of Cholera was most likely from UN peacekeeping troops from Nepal, who were positioned long term, in a camp, which had very poor sanitary facilities/untreated water.
Mexico has been the fourth country in the Western Hemisphere to experience this outbreak. Mexico's case was first found in through normal surveillance of hospital cases of severe diarrhea. Since September, there has been 171 reported cases found in Mexico, and one person who has died.
It was not that long ago either since the last major cholera epidemic. 22 years ago, a cholera outbreak spread all the way up the South American continent, until stopping at the US- Mexico border, because of the US modern sanitation facilities. It sickened more than 1 million people and killing around 10,000. Officials are extremely worried a similar situation could play out with this South Asian Cholera strain. It took Mexico more than 10 years to bring the last cholera epidemic under control.
The World health Organization has a stockpile of oral cholera vaccines, costing $ 1.85 and requires two doses, however Mexico is not considering using them right now. The vaccine is mainly to use for epidemics (which this could turn into). But Mexico authorities are focused on monitoring the population and fast treatment of affected people.
If this turns into an epidemic, the public health implications would be huge. It won't just a regional impact, but a global health impact. Infectious diseases have away of bringing developing nations backward in time. It's not just having people sick - it's having people unable to go to work, to school, unable to live their lives. Public health officials agree that the only real solution is to have clean water and better sewage treatment to communities. In the article is states that Cholera is one of the few diseases that makes people listen. So hopefully this strain of Cholera will make people take action (as in provide funding to bring clean water and sewage treatment).
In class we learned about the leading causes of death has changed (in the US), from infectious diseases and things that are from crowded spaces, poor water treatment, etc in the early 20th century, to chronic diseases in the 21st century. Thus the things public health has been focused on and targets has changed. I think this contributes to the idea that, for Americans, their is a view that Cholera was something that happened in the past, and it won't affect us now. Clean water and sewage treatment is such a basic human need, that it's hard to imagine not having that available - and that this is still a problem, and it's not just in far away places, it's in a place that the US share's a border with.
http://www.npr.org/blogs/health/2013/10/23/239803890/haitian-cholera-strain-spreads-to-mainland-with-mexico-outbreak
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I heard about this a few weeks ago! It's rather ironic (and unfortunate) that UN peace-keeping troups brought this health problem to Haiti. Cholera was not commonly found in Haiti until recently, and this public health concern could turn into an epidemic quickly because of the rapid pace of travel brought on by globalization and the influx of new technology around the world. How has globalization and transnationalism hindered public health agencies' abilities to control infectious diseases? Also, I am curious to know why Mexico is not using the WHO's collection of oral cholera vaccines. Really fascinating article, it gives you a lot to think about.
ReplyDeleteI will be very interested so see how this progresses over the next several months to years to see if it does repeat an epidemic similar to the one that occurred roughly twenty years ago. I agree with Leala that it is quite ironic that this was brought to these countries by a U.N. force. This article also demonstrates the importance of public sanitation which could help stop outbreaks from occurring, as it did in U.S. twenty years ago in that last outbreak.
ReplyDeleteGood post!! I really loved reading about this because I actually did a report on cholera a while back and at that point, it was considered one of those diseases that was a problem in the past. But clearly, we have our little American blinders on since we haven't noticed the susceptibility of developing nations, and our own neighbor Mexico, to this infectious disease. I'm stumped as to why Mexico won't accept the WHO's vaccines, just like Leala. Did the government say no? Who approves (or in this case disapproves) these kind of relief efforts? And what would be the proper protocol to get those vaccines into the country, ie could non-profits just take them in themselves? If so, then the WHO should work with local non-profits or medical mission groups to get the vaccines into the country. There must be round-a-bout ways of helping these people. Cholera is not something to be taken lightly, and I whole-heartedly agree that this must be stopped before it becomes an epidemic.
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