Cholera News and Research

Latest Cholera News and Research

IRIN reports on flooding in Africa

In three separate articles, IRIN reports on the implications of flooding taking place in Africa. "Tens of thousands of people have been affected by flooding in parts of central, eastern and southern Chad following heavy rains in August," the news service writes in the first article, adding that the floods have affected 445,725 people and destroyed 255,720 hectares of cropland.

12 Sep 2012

Success and failure in fighting cholera in Haiti

"Almost two years after the deadly disease first appeared in Haiti in the aftermath of the Jan. 12, 2010 earthquake, the story of cholera is one of both success and failure," columnist Catherine Porter writes in a Toronto Star opinion piece.

10 Sep 2012

Heavy rainfall worsening cholera outbreaks in Sierra Leone, Guinea

"Heavy rainfall is accelerating the spread of cholera in Sierra Leone and Guinea, where existing health risks such as poor hygiene practices, unsafe water sources and improper waste management are believed to have triggered the disease which has killed 327 people and infected more than 17,400 in both countries since February," IRIN reports.

6 Sep 2012

Cholera vaccine offers herd immunity, study from Zanzibar shows

"Cholera vaccine gives indirect protection to unvaccinated people in communities where a substantial fraction of the population gets the vaccine," according to a study from the island of Zanzibar in East Africa, published in the Lancet on Tuesday, NPR's "Shots" blog reports.

6 Sep 2012

FDA continues review of Salix’s Crofelemer new drug application

Napo Pharmaceuticals, Inc. was informed today that the Food and Drug Administration is continuing its review of the new drug application seeking approval of crofelemer for the treatment of chronic diarrhea in people living with HIV/AIDS on anti-retroviral therapy.

6 Sep 2012

U.N. SG warns withdraw of aid groups from Haiti leaves country struggling with cholera epidemic

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon "warned on Friday that Haiti was struggling to cope with a cholera epidemic that has killed thousands and deteriorating conditions in tent camps as aid groups withdraw from the impoverished country due to a lack of funding," Reuters reports.

5 Sep 2012

New cholera cases after tropical storm do not amount to outbreak, Haitian officials say

Haiti has "reported new cases of cholera as aftermath of the tropical storm Isaac, but Public Health Ministry General Director Guirlene Raymond said that "so far the numbers do not match outbreak ratings," Prensa Latina reports.

31 Aug 2012

Cuban government says cholera outbreak that sickened 417, killed 3, has ended

"Cuba's government declared Tuesday that health workers had eradicated a cholera outbreak that infected 417 people and killed three, according to a statement from the country's Health Ministry," CNN reports.

30 Aug 2012

South Sudan refugee health situation 'alarming,' U.N. warns

"The situation of 170,000 Sudanese refugees living in camps and settlements across South Sudan's Unity and Upper Nile states is alarming and there are worries about an outbreak of cholera, U.N. refugee agency officials said on Friday," the Associated Press/Washington Post reports.

28 Aug 2012

U.K. launches emergency response to fight cholera outbreak in Sierra Leone

"The U.K. government has activated a £2 million $3.16 million emergency plan to help tackle a cholera epidemic sweeping through Sierra Leone," the Press Association reports, adding, "The Department for International Development (DfID) says it is using a network that includes private businesses and specialist aid organizations to deliver emergency medical, water and sanitation assistance to affected people in the west African state."

28 Aug 2012

Cholera toxin binds differently to intestinal cells than previously thought

The likelihood of becoming seriously ill from cholera depends on your blood group. It is possible to find a new remedy for the feared illness by studying the molecular structure in the toxin in the cholera bacteria.

28 Aug 2012

Haiti at risk of fresh cholera outbreak after tropical storm Isaac hits island nation

"Rain-battered Haiti is at risk of a fresh cholera outbreak" after "tropical storm Isaac ripped through the impoverished Caribbean island Saturday," children's charity Plan International warns, according to AlertNet.

28 Aug 2012

Sierra Leone cholera outbreak continues to spread

"Sierra Leone's health ministry said Thursday that deaths from a cholera outbreak had reached 220, affecting over 12,000 people in the west African nation, which is struggling to curb the disease," Agence France-Presse reports.

24 Aug 2012

Women in developing countries could play a major role in remedying sanitation and water crisis

People in ancient Rome 2,000 years ago had better access to clean water and sanitation that keeps disease-causing human excrement out of contact with people than many residents of the 21st century, a scientist said here today.

21 Aug 2012

WHO calls for emergency stockpile of cholera vaccine

The World Health Organization (WHO) is calling for the establishment of a global stockpile of the cholera vaccine to respond to outbreaks like the one that has gripped Haiti since an earthquake hit the country in 2010, NPR's "Shots" reports.

21 Aug 2012

Sierra Leone declares cholera outbreak a national emergency

"Sierra Leone has declared a cholera outbreak that has left 176 people dead since the start of the year a national humanitarian emergency, officials said Friday," AlertNet reports, adding, "Jonathan Abass Kamara, public relations officer for Sierra Leone's health ministry, said the outbreak was the worst in the West Africa country's history."

21 Aug 2012

Mali faces 'complex humanitarian emergency' as a result of displacement, food insecurity

"More than 435,000 people have been displaced in Mali, as the country faces a complex humanitarian emergency due to conflict and food insecurity, according to a new report released by the United Nations relief agency," the U.N. News Centre reports.

21 Aug 2012

Blog interviews health reporter regarding Haiti's cholera outbreak

In this post in KPLU 88.5's "Humanosphere" blog, journalist Tom Murphy interviews reporter Jonathan Katz, "the first to break the story connecting U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal to the" cholera outbreak in Haiti.

18 Aug 2012

Cholera affecting refugees in Eastern Congo, MSF reports

"The first case of cholera has emerged among thousands of people in an impromptu refugee camp in eastern Congo who fled fighting between a new rebel group and government forces backed by U.N. peacekeepers," according to Medecins Sans Frontieres (MSF), the Associated Press/Washington Post reports (Muhumuza, 8/3).

6 Aug 2012

Partners in health reports on efforts to curb Haiti's cholera epidemic using oral vaccinations

"In April, Partners In Health [PIH] responded to Haiti's cholera epidemic by providing oral vaccinations to 45,000 people living in the country's Artibonite region -- specifically, to two rice-farming communities hit hard by cholera," Louise Ivers, senior health and policy adviser at PIH, reports in an article on the organization's webpage.

3 Aug 2012