Cholera: Three Key Steps to Stopping an Outbreak

Cholera, a virulent illness that comes on quick and can be fatal mere hours after symptoms appear, kills more than 100,000 people a year.The infection is characterized by chronic diarrhea, rapidly leading to life-threatening dehydration and electrolyte imbalances. And because nearly three-quarters of those infected with cholera don't develop symptoms, the bacteria in their fecal matter can enter water streams unmitigated and go on to sicken myriad others.Haitian communities are, not surprisingly, experiencing a surge in cholera cases. Slums and camps for displaced persons are hotbeds for outbreaks because of poor infrastructure, overcrowding and a lack of adequate sanitation.More than 250 people have succumbed to the illness already, as aid workers try to contain outbreaks and prevent them from reaching the Haitian capital of Port-au-Prince. So far, officials are cautiously optimistic that the multinational strategy will prove effective."We have registered a diminishing in numbers of deaths and of hospitalized people in the most critical areas. ... The tendency is that it is stabilizing, without being able to say that we have reached a peak," Gabriel Thimote, director-general of Haiti's Health Department, told reporters.How will they do it? Surge Desk breaks it down.1. Educate Haitians to prevent illnessStaving off cholera in the first place trumps curbing outbreaks as they happen, so aid workers in Haitian communities are reinforcing the importance of hand washing and using clean water. Haitian medical staffers, alongside U.N. officials and nongovernmental organizations, are also mobilizing to provide the tools Haitians need to keep things sanitary.Aid workers are already handing out soap, water purification tablets and rehydration kits to those in particularly vulnerable regions, Reuters reported this morning.2. Contain those infectedOfficials are hoping for the best but preparing for the worst, by building quarantine facilities to house the infirm."I think the only responsible thing we can do at the moment is prepare and plan for the worst-case scenario," Imogen Wall, a U.N. spokeswoman, told CNN.Five people infected in Port-au-Prince have already been isolated for treatment, in an attempt to keep the sickness out of the major population hub. For now, though, most Haitian hospitals are admitting cholera-infected patients, as well as those sick with other illnesses. That's creating added risk that needs to be eliminated."We cannot continue to treat cholera in this structure where we are also seeing other kinds of patients," Dieula Louissaint, a regional health director, told London's Telegraph. "We need to establish specific treatment centers." 3. Catch it -- and treat it -- quicklyDehydration kills quickly, and most of those suffering from symptoms of cholera will die within a week without treatment. In Haiti, medical officials say they've got 300,000 doses of antibiotics and adequate hydration equipment to treat the infirm -- assuming a widespread outbreak doesn't sweep the country.
"Our main concern now is to be prepared if the cholera spreads down south -- that we're ready to respond very quickly and effectively," Chris Brewer, a Red Cross team leader in Haiti, told CBC.Provided that diagnosis is efficient, treatment for cholera can be quick and effective. moncler jackets Antibiotics can hasten recovery, and a solution of sugar and electrolytes, provided by the World Health Organization, can be provided orally or intravenously, depending on the severity of the person's illness. Follow Surge Desk on Twitter.