Scope of Cuba's cholera outbreak unclear

Scope of Cuba's cholera outbreak unclear
11/07/2012 10:33:00 AM
Angela Mulholland

Worries are growing about how widespread the cholera outbreak affecting
Cuba is, with news that at least 85 people have become ill and reports
that the disease has spread to several parts of the country.

Worries are growing about how widespread the cholera outbreak affecting
Cuba is, with news that at least 85 people have become ill and reports
that the disease has spread to several parts of the country.

With Cuban officials offering few details on the situation, there are
fears that the communist Cuban government may be downplaying the scope
of the outbreak, which is officially the first that Cuba has seen in
decades.

While some are worried about how the outbreak might affect tourists, for
now, neither the Public Health Agency of Canada nor the U.S. Centers for
Disease Control have issued warnings to travellers.

On Tuesday, the European Centre for Disease Prevention and Control
(ECDC) said it was looking into the outbreak as a potential threat to
European travellers. It said it was working in collaboration with the
World Health Organization to assess the situation and would publish a
rapid risk assessment on the ECDC website shortly.

Cholera is a bacterial infection that causes vomiting and severe
diarrhea and can kill through dehydration; in some cases, that can
happen within just one day. If caught early, cholera is easily treated
but it can continue to spread through a community through contaminated
water and food.

Cuban authorities say the outbreak has been confined to the southern
province of Granma, where the popular tourist city of Manzanillo is
located, and that the number of confirmed cases stands at 85.

Most of Manzanillo has no water system and thousands of homes rely on
wells and latrines, which flooded in June due to heavy rainfall.

Cuba's Health Ministry says it's sealing off tainted water supplies and
insists the outbreak is under control, despite no travel quarantine on
the city.

While the Cuban government says the disease is confined, several reports
say cases have also been diagnosed in the capital of Havana, on the
other end of the island.

The BBC reported over the weekend it had confirmed at least one case in
Havana, without naming its sources. The Miami Herald quoted an apparent
dissident who lives in Granma who said 15 people have died and more than
1,000 people had been sickened.

Cuban officials have not commented on those reports.

Granma province epidemiologist Ana Maria Batista has made three
appearances on provincial television to update the situation, but the
Miami Herald says that Cuba's state-run newspapers, national TV and
radio chains have not published anything on the outbreak.

A public health official spoke to Reuters on Tuesday on condition of
anonymity and said that reports that 15 people had died were not true.
She said that along with the three confirmed deaths there were two
suspected ones, all in the Manzanillo area.

She also said the outbreak had been mostly contained to Granma, with
just a few scattered cases confirmed elsewhere in the country.

The Public Health Agency of Canada says most travellers are at low risk
of cholera, even in countries where outbreaks occur, as long as basic
water and food precautions are followed.

That means eating only food that has been well cooked and avoiding
uncooked fish and seafood. It also means avoiding salads and food from
street vendors.

As well, drink and use ice only from purified water that has been boiled
or disinfected, or stick with commercially bottled water in sealed
containers.

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