Guinea, Burkina Faso and Côte d'Ivoire: yellow fever
The World Health Organization (WHO) has received reports of yellow fever outbreaks in three of the districts of Burkina Faso bordering Côte d'Ivoire. Four cases with one fatality have been confirmed by laboratory analysis at the WHO Collaborating Center for Yellow Fever, the Institut Pasteur, Senegal. A boy aged 4 years was the fatal case who came from Côte d'Ivoire.
Previously, seven cases, four of which were fatal, had been reported in the region of Fouta Djalon in nearby Guinea. In addition, four cases, three fatal have been reported in Mamou, a town of 236,000 inhabitants which is situated around the railway line from Conakry to Kankan. Mamou acts as an important transport hub in the country, making the situation all the more concerning.
Furthermore, three cases, one fatal, have been reported in Dalaba, a city of 136,000 inhabitants, 50 km from Mamou.
A team from the Ministry of Health and WHO in Burkina Faso, and a team from the Ministry of Health, WHO and UNICEF in Côte d'Ivoire quickly investigated the outbreak in this cross-border area characterized by increased population movements. A mass vaccination campaign is being prepared in both countries to protect the population at risk, and to prevent the spread of the disease to densely populated urban settings.
The WHO Regional Office for Africa is working with both Ministries to determine the most appropriate strategies for disease control in the cross-border area, and to raise funds for outbreak response activities.
India: Japanese encephalitis
Authorities in India have reported 1145 cases of Japanese encephalitis in 14 districts of the Uttar Pradesh Province, India between the 29th July and 30th August, 2005. Those affected are predominantly children, and one quarter are thought to have died.
Japanese encephalitis is a potentially fatal viral disease, which affects the CNS. The symptoms include high fever, severe headaches and convulsions. It is spread by infected mosquitoes in agricultural regions (primarily the Culex tritaeniorhynchus group) which become infected by the virus through feeding on infected domestic pigs and wild birds. Japanese encephalitis is preventable via vaccine; however, authorities in India say their budget does not allow them to vaccinate the population.
According to a local health official, authorities in the northern state of Uttar Pradesh, India, are struggling to cope with the number of patients, since they are already short of staff.
The Director General of Health Services, OP Singh, in defending criticism that the government's response to the health crisis had been slow, saying they are doing all that is needed.
Somalia and Ethiopia: poliomyelitis
One case of poliomyelitis has been reported in Mogadishu, Somalia in a 15-month old girl who suffered onset of paralysis, associated with the condition. Genetic sequencing is currently taking place to determine the origin of the infection. In addition, as of the 31st of August, two new cases have been reported in bordering Ethiopia, bringing the total there to 15 in 2005.
Ethiopia had been polio-free since January 2001, before a poliovirus was imported into the country from bordering Sudan in December 2004.
The Global Polio Eradication Initiative – spearheaded by the World Health Organization (WHO), Rotary International, the US Centers for Disease Control and Prevention and UNICEF – have recently launched an ambitious new series of polio immunization campaigns to prevent the re-establishment of the disease in the Horn of Africa.
West Africa: cholera
Outbreaks of cholera, which began several weeks ago, continue to spread in West Africa. The issue is being intensified by seasonal factors, such as heavy rain added to by increasing population movements.
Cholera is an acute gastrointestinal infection caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, which enters the body in contaminated food or water. It produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhoea that rapidly leads to severe dehydration and death, without prompt treatment.
The World Health organization (WHO), alongside the international and national health partners is providing technical support to the ministries of health at the country and subregional level. Furthermore, the WHO is strengthening surveillance activities in attempts to control any further spread of the disease. Supplies for case management and chlorination of water have also been dispatched to some of the countries.