NewsWhore
10-25-2010, 01:50 PM
In response to the outbreak of cholera in neighboring Haiti, the Dominican authorities are strengthening preventive measures aimed at keeping cholera out of the country. This work, led by the Ministry of Public Health, intensified yesterday. More than 3,000 cases of cholera and around 250 fatalities, 14 of them along the border, have been reported in Haiti. Public Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez was in the border area to monitor the preparations. Minister Rojas has said the country had valuable experience preparing to prevent the 1991 cholera outbreak in Peru from entering the DR.
Preventive measures included bringing in Cary-Blair tubes from Atlanta for culture testing. The first laboratory available for these tests is the governmental Laboratorio Nacional Dr. Defillo lab in Santo Domingo. The lab is capable of testing and diagnosing 1,000 cases.
Diagnostic facilities will also be provided for Santiago, Barahona and San Juan de la Maguana. The authorities have instructed hospitals nationwide to treat cholera wherever it is detected to prevent the spread of the disease as has happened in Haiti.
Rojas Gomez reported that he was convening a meeting for this morning with the National Cholera Commission, which is composed of several institutions. The invitation was extended to the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) and to international organizations.
The health authorities are working with a team of experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). It was reported that they have prepared for the arrival of a group of specialists who handled the epidemic in Peru.
The instructions that they have issued say that as the first case of cholera is detected, rehydration should begin immediately. Personnel in hospitals along the frontier were also trained and provided with hydration salts and serums.
Yesterday bulletins containing information on preventive measures and the protocols to follow were distributed all over the country. A ban on cooked or raw food from Haiti is in effect. Every person crossing the border will be required to fill out a form as a way of preventing the disease from entering the country. The health authorities are working in coordination with the municipal authorities, provincial governors and local institutions as well as with the water sector.
The Minister advised the public to continue following the official recommendations and revealed that the ministry has taken control of the aqueducts and ordered an increase of chlorine in the water.
Rojas Gomez made a helicopter trip with Lilian Reneau, the PAHO representative in the country, stopping at health facilities at Elias Pina and Neyba.
Reneau admitted that there was a risk that cholera would enter the DR because of its proximity to Haiti, but she stressed the fast rate with which the country has taken preventive measures. She said that the public must be made aware of correct water and food hygiene procedures.
The government has also suspended many of the food-related activities during the "market days" along the frontier.
See: www.diariolibre.com.do/noticias_det.php?id=2658240 (http://www.diariolibre.com.do/noticias_det.php?id=2658240)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)
Preventive measures included bringing in Cary-Blair tubes from Atlanta for culture testing. The first laboratory available for these tests is the governmental Laboratorio Nacional Dr. Defillo lab in Santo Domingo. The lab is capable of testing and diagnosing 1,000 cases.
Diagnostic facilities will also be provided for Santiago, Barahona and San Juan de la Maguana. The authorities have instructed hospitals nationwide to treat cholera wherever it is detected to prevent the spread of the disease as has happened in Haiti.
Rojas Gomez reported that he was convening a meeting for this morning with the National Cholera Commission, which is composed of several institutions. The invitation was extended to the Dominican Medical Association (CMD) and to international organizations.
The health authorities are working with a team of experts from the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO). It was reported that they have prepared for the arrival of a group of specialists who handled the epidemic in Peru.
The instructions that they have issued say that as the first case of cholera is detected, rehydration should begin immediately. Personnel in hospitals along the frontier were also trained and provided with hydration salts and serums.
Yesterday bulletins containing information on preventive measures and the protocols to follow were distributed all over the country. A ban on cooked or raw food from Haiti is in effect. Every person crossing the border will be required to fill out a form as a way of preventing the disease from entering the country. The health authorities are working in coordination with the municipal authorities, provincial governors and local institutions as well as with the water sector.
The Minister advised the public to continue following the official recommendations and revealed that the ministry has taken control of the aqueducts and ordered an increase of chlorine in the water.
Rojas Gomez made a helicopter trip with Lilian Reneau, the PAHO representative in the country, stopping at health facilities at Elias Pina and Neyba.
Reneau admitted that there was a risk that cholera would enter the DR because of its proximity to Haiti, but she stressed the fast rate with which the country has taken preventive measures. She said that the public must be made aware of correct water and food hygiene procedures.
The government has also suspended many of the food-related activities during the "market days" along the frontier.
See: www.diariolibre.com.do/noticias_det.php?id=2658240 (http://www.diariolibre.com.do/noticias_det.php?id=2658240)
More... (http://www.dr1.com/index.html#4)