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Cholera

Cholera

Cholera causes profuse diarrhoea and vomiting, and infected people can die of profound dehydration, sometimes within a matter of hours. It often breaks out when there is overcrowding and inadequate access to clean water, rubbish collection, and proper latrines. This situation can be especially problematic in rainy seasons when houses and latrines flood and contaminated water collects in stagnant pools. Cholera is caused by infection with bacteria, which is excreted in faeces and vomit. The infection spreads when someone ingests the bacteria through contaminated food or water, or comes into contact with excretions from an infected person and does not wash their hands before eating or preparing food. Contamination of food or...
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MSF concludes cholera intervention in Balcad, Middle Shabelle, Somalia

18 May 2012
MSF medical teams in Middle Shabelle have responded to a cholera outbreak detected in the region late March. The confirmation of the first cholera case prompted the humanitarian organization to open a Cholera Treatment Centre (CTC) in Balcad (Middle Shabelle) on March 28th, which has admitted a total of 77 patients. Two infants died initially due to late arrival at the MSF health facility; the other 75 patients were successfully cured.  The majority of affected patients were children under five years old. In addition to treating patients, MSF teams also carried out chlorination of the water sources, and distributed water purifying tablets to the affected communities.  In the absence of new cases in the last 2...
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Haiti unprepared in face of resurgent cholera

10 May 2012
Cholera cases are on the rise in Haiti
Patients affected by cholera are receiving a treatment in one of the MSF Cholera Treatment Center located in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, Haiti.
Port-au-Prince – Cholera cases are on the rise in Haiti following the onset of the rainy season, and the country is not adequately prepared to combat the deadly disease, the international medical humanitarian organisation Médecins Sans Frontières /Doctors Without Borders (MSF) said today. October 2011. Patients affected by cholera are receiving a treatment in one of the MSF Cholera Treatment Center located in the capital city, Port-au-Prince, Haiti. Photo: Frederik Matte/MSF   While Haiti’s Ministry of Health and Populations claims to be in control of the situation, health facilities in many regions of the country remain incapable of responding to the seasonal...
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Despite growing complexity, MSF continues to provide healthcare in North Kivu, DRC

07 May 2012
Democratic Republic of Congo
An MSF staff member examines a young patient in Birambizo Health Zone in North Kivu.
Despite the growing complexity of an already unstable situation in North Kivu, DRC, MSF continues to provide primary and secondary healthcare to the population, supporting 4 reference hospitals, 12 health centers, 4 health posts, several cholera treatment centers (CTC), weekly mobile clinics, and emergency response activities as required.       An MSF staff member examines a young patient in Birambizo Health Zone in North Kivu. Photo: Emily Lynch/MSF   The increase in the conflict between armed groups since early April has led to population displacement, trauma wounds, and greater morbidity and mortality from certain illnesses for the populations affected by this...
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MSF using innovative oral vaccine during cholera outbreak in Guinea

24 April 2012
MSF: oral vaccine during cholera outbreak in Guinea
MSF using innovative oral vaccine during cholera outbreak in Guinea
More than 150,000 people are currently being vaccinated near Conakry, the capital of Guinea, where a cholera epidemic has broken out. Photo: Christelle Ntsama   For the first time, Médecins Sans Frontières/Doctors Without Borders (MSF) is responding to a cholera outbreak in Africa by carrying out a mass vaccination campaign. In Guinea, the emergency medical organisation is using an oral vaccine to limit the spread of the disease. The first two phases of this campaign began on April 18 in the Boffa region, near Conakry. "The epidemic in Guinea was declared in February and Boffa Prefecture is currently where we are seeing the largest active outbreak," said Charles Gaudry...
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A Month in Focus - April 2012

11 April 2012
Month in Focus April 2012
DRC, Chad, Paraguay, Uzbekistan, Haiti
DR Congo – An alarming surge in malaria Chad – On the brink of a peak in malnutrition Paraguay – The scourge of the vinchuca Uzbekistan – Tuberculose shows resistance Haiti – Medical certificates for cholera patients
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MSF in Haiti: Two Years on

11 January 2012
MSF teams treating cholera patients in Saint-Marc, Artibonite region in Haiti.
MSF teams treating cholera patients in Saint-Marc, Artibonite region, Haiti.
Two years after the devastating earthquake in Port-au-Prince, nearly 500,000 displaced Haitians are still living in extremely precarious conditions. MSF is still working to contain the cholera epidemic and to provide emergency medical care. Access to free care in Haiti remains indeed virtually non-existent for people who live in precarious conditions, those who are far from urban centers or those who can not afford health care in the private facilities that exist in Haiti. In the aftermath of the earthquake of January 2010, MSF launched the largest emergency response in its history, providing care for 358,000 people, making 16,570 surgical operations and making 15,100 deliveries over a 10-months period. During the cholera...
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Haiti: MSF increases hospital capacity in the area affected by the earthquake

10 January 2012
Haiti
Haiti earthquake, one month on
Two years after the earthquake, the health care system in Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas is still in disarray. Most Haitians still lack proper access to emergency care. December 2010. Two weeks after the opening of the cholera treatment centre in Cap Haitien Gymnasium, the sensitisation team has moved from 6 members to more than 40 community health workers. Photo: Aurelie Lachant / MSF January 12, 2010 will forever remain engraved in Haiti's collective memory. Nearly everyone in the country lost a relative, friend or neighbour in the earthquake that hit that day, and many survivors continue to suffer physical or psychological after-effects. The piles of rubble and gaping holes in the streets...
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Cameroon: MSF supports health authorities fighting cholera epidemic

29 November 2011
Cholera in Cameroon
A woman with symptoms of cholera is admitted to the MSF-run cholera treatment center in Yaoundé, west of Douala, Cameroon
Cholera has now spread to all districts of Cameroon’s largest city, Douala, home to 2.1 million people. The outbreak was officially declared an epidemic in September 2010 and since then it has spiked and declined a number of times. During a rainy period in March and April, the numbers of cases peaked with an average of 120 per week; and numbers have steadily risen again with another rainy period beginning in September. By mid-October, there were more than 400 cases per week. A woman with symptoms of cholera is admitted to the MSF-run cholera treatment center in Yaoundé, west of Douala, in March. Photo: Christelle Ntsama/MSF "The existing health structures were no longer able to...
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MSF Frontline Reports podcast: The Struggle For Basic Medical Care in North Kivu, DRC

24 November 2011
DRC
MSF in Democratic Republic of Congo
    Paul Brockmann worked as the project coordinator for a year in the Médecins Sans Frontières / Doctors Without Borders (MSF) primary health care program in and around the village of Mweso, in North Kivu Province. People living in this area of eastern Democratic Republic of Congo have to contend with ongoing insecurity and outbreaks of violence that push them out of their homes. They suffer from preventable diseases like cholera, measles, and malaria, and are often unable to access medical care. Which is why MSF has been working there for 30 years. Here Brockmann describes what he saw during his time in North Kivu.
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by Dr. Radut.