- The ARC - California Edition -

Food for Preventive Thought
Diseases From Around the World

Cholera in the Comoros Islands – An outbreak of cholera has been reported from Grande Comore Island. The first case was reported on January 19, 1998 and by the end of three weeks 193 cases and 8 deaths had been reported from the district of Moroni.

Cholera in Democratic Republic of the Congo – Just now reported is an outbreak of cholera that occurred this winter and resulted in over 1,200 cases of the disease that caused 250 fatalities. This outbreak occurred in a military camp located near Kisangani. Most of those afflicted were teenagers and 30% of them were already suffering from severe malnutrition. This is an area where the water quality and sanitary conditions are extremely poor.

Meningococcal Meningitis in the Democratic Republic of the Congo -- An outbreak of meningococcal meningitis group A has been reported in Tembo, Bandundu region which is close to neighbor Angola. Over 100 cases of this serious disease were reported by Congo health officials during the month of January 1998. One third of these cases were fatal. Meningitis has also been reported in Kikwit and Kahemba. Apparently, 80 additional cases of meningitis were also hospitalized across the border in Angola.

Rift Valley Fever in Kenya and Somalia -- An outbreak of Rift Valley Fever (RVF) was occurring during January of this year in the Northeast Province of Kenya and throughout southern Somalia. The number of deaths in Kenya alone had already exceeded 400.

With the heavy rainfall in East Africa during the winter months of 1997, virus-infected eggs of floodwater breeding mosquitoes have hatched and are infecting animals and humans alike.

Influenza A(H5N1) in Hong Kong – No new cases of influenza A(H5N1) in humans have been reported since December 1997. The total number of confirmed cases in humans was 18, of which 6 were fatal. Ten cases recovered and two remain hospitalized. This is the influenza which resulted in the entire population of Hong Kong chickens being slaughtered by their government officials this winter.

Dengue Haemorrhagic Fever in Cambodia — The number of cases of dengue haemorrhagic fever admitted to two pediatric hospitals serving as sentinel sites in Phnom Penh were much higher than normal during January 1998. During that one month, the number of monthly cases reached 227 which is almost five times above the epidemic threshold for a typical January. Three of the 227 cases were fatal.

Cholera in Mozambique — An outbreak began in the port city of Beira during the last week of January 1998 and has increased dramatically with about 2,000 cases occurring in two weeks. There were 109 deaths during this period. Strict control measures are reportedly being taken but are hampered by the very poor sanitary conditions prevailing in the city.