Alert of Some Cases of Cholera in Dominican Republic

Several deaths from dehydration in the municipality of Enriquillo have aroused the alert of Dominican epidemiologists. The deceased, among them children, presented severe diarrhea and dehydration, which suggests a possible expansion of the cholera outbreak in the region.

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So far only two cases have been positive in this municipality in Los Cocos town. Another 11 cases are kept under surveillance which, like the deceased, present symptoms of acute diarrhea. Tey are Haitians residing in the same community.

The Ministry of Public Health in Dominican Republic reported the implementation of a vaccination campaign that began in January this year, which consists of 85,000 doses. At that time the country had 42 confirmed cases. A significant number of those doses were sent to border towns with Haiti, with the aim of preventing the transfer of the disease to and from the neighboring country.

Currently, the experience achieved in recent months in confronting the disease has allowed the creation of a working group that is in charge of training hospital personnel at the municipal level. This work is even more necessary in those towns that has positive or suspected cases and that had never dealt with combating the disease. The teams includes epidemiologists and medical specialists.

In the Dominican Republic, the Ministry of Public Health confirmed 12 new cholera cases since the last report on 17 February, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 88, of which 71 are reported in the capital city of Santo Domingo.

Las autoridades del Hospital Regional Docente Universitario Jaime Mota, activaron el Comité de Emergencias y habilitó una sala de aislamiento para la atención de casos positivos y sospechosos.

El Cólera es una infección diarreica aguda causada por la ingestión de alimentos o agua contaminados con el bacilo Vibrio cholerae. Esta enfermedad ataca  de igual manera a menores y adultos y puede ser letal en cuestión de horas. Esto es debido a que posee un breve periodo de incubación, que puede ir de dos horas a cinco días.

Hoy, al igual que en Enero de este año, el país necesitara del apoyo de la Organizacion Panamericana de la Salud (OPS) para implementar nuevas jornadas de vacunación.

The authorities of the Jaime Mota Regional Teaching University Hospital activated the Emergency Committee and set up an isolation room for the care of positive and suspected cases.

Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacillus Vibrio cholerae. This disease attacks children and adults alike and can be fatal in a matter of hours. This is because it has a short incubation period, which can range from two hours to five days.

Today, as in January of this year, the country will need the support of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) to implement new vaccination days.

PAHO interventions conceives its intervention strategy as a whole aimed at the island of Hispaniola. It is taken into account that Haiti and the Dominican Republic share a wide border and a constant migratory flow. In this sense, while national intervention strategies are designed, such as vaccination campaigns, an integrated approach is also developed that includes both countries. An example is the drinking water purification systems and sewage treatment.

The regional health institution also implement programs that consist of strengthening coordination of the cholera response in the 2 countries by providing surge capacity in epidemiological surveillance, case management, water, hygiene, sanitation, community and risk communication.

It also focuses on enhancing epidemiological and laboratory surveillance at all level of the two countries to improve the quality of data and reporting, as well as to strengthen the capacity of the laboratories for the rapid detection and diagnosis of cholera, including procuring equipment, laboratory materials and reagents

Patients are being treated with oral rehydration salts, while sanitary measures associated with the care of water tanks and sources and the systematic sanitization of food are reinforced. In severe cases, which doctors describe as aggressive, intensive rehydration is applied.

All this to try to save the lives of those patients diagnosed late. The administration of last generation antibiotics is also essential.

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