Cholera Outbreak in Iraq, 2017 Zgheir Shakir Mohsen1, Mustafa Nabil Mansur1, Ali Ali Abdalkader1,*, Al-Diwan Jawad2 1Communicable Diseases Control Centre, Iraq, Minstry of Health 2MBChB, MSc, FIBMS/FFPH, Department of Community & amp; Family Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Baghdad *Coresponding Authour: Dr. Ali Abdalkader Ali, Communicable Diseases Control Centre, Iraq, Minstry of Health, Email: alialazawi1967@yahoo.com
Online published on 19 August, 2019. Abstract Background In Aug, 2017, Iraq as one of the Eastern Mediterranean Region countries experienced cholera outbreak. Iraq is a cholera endemic country with epidemics every 3–4 years. Poor services due to the wars and conflicts, the influx of internally displaced people reinforce many outbreaks in the last 10 years. Aim of the study To assess the Cholera Outbreak in Iraq, 2017 Method We defined a case of Cholera as a patient with diarrhea that had a positive stool sample for vibrio cholera. Epidemiological investigations were carried for each case and their contacts was examined also the type of drinking water was determined. Results The total suspected cholera cases were 505. Most of the cases (98%) were inaba with a peak in W47 giving a case fatality rate of 0.6%. Generally, the diarrheal cases were in the middle and south of Iraq and the proportion of cholera cases was higher in those who use river, vehicle and other sources of water while most of cases occurred in autumn. Conclusions Provision of adequate and safe water supply besides other control measures should be in place to prevent further outbreaks. Epidemiological and laboratory evidence suggested that the water was the source of this outbreak. Top Keywords Cholera, Iraq 2017, epidemics, water, endemic countries. Top |