RESUMO
On 17 May 2009, the first two cases of 2009 pandemic influenza A(H1N1) were confirmed in the Metropolitan region (Santiago, Chile). On 6 June 2009, Chile reported 500 confirmed cases, seven severe and two fatal. Because six of the severe cases and the two deaths occurred in the region of Los Lagos in southern Chile, a retrospective study was conducted using data on emergency room visits as well as laboratory viral surveillance, during the period from 1 April to 31 May, in order to establish the date of the beginning of the outbreak. From 1 to 27 June, data were collected in real time, to establish the real magnitude of the outbreak, describe its transmission, clinical severity and secondary attack rates. Confirmed cases, their household contacts and healthcare workers were interviewed. This analysis showed that the outbreak in Los Lagos started on 28 April. By 27 June, a total of 14.559 clinical cases were identified, affecting mostly 5-19 year-olds. The effective reproduction number during the initial phase (20 days) was 1.8 (1.6-2.0). Of the 190 confirmed cases with severe acute respiratory infection, 71 (37.4%) presented a risk condition or underlying illness.
Assuntos
Surtos de Doenças , Vírus da Influenza A Subtipo H1N1 , Influenza Humana/epidemiologia , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Chile/epidemiologia , Serviço Hospitalar de Emergência/estatística & dados numéricos , Feminino , Humanos , Lactente , Influenza Humana/transmissão , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Vigilância da População , Estudos Retrospectivos , Fatores de Risco , Adulto JovemRESUMO
BACKGROUND: To assess the effectiveness of the cholera prevention activities of the Peruvian Ministry of Health, we conducted a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey in urban and rural Amazon communities during the cholera epidemic in 1991. METHODS: We surveyed heads of 67 urban and 61 rural households to determine diarrhoea rates, sources of cholera prevention information, and knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding ten cholera prevention measures. RESULTS: Twenty-five per cent of 482 urban and 11% of 454 rural household members had diarrhoea during the first 3-4 months of the epidemic. Exposure to mass media education was greater in urban areas, and education through interpersonal communication was more prevalent in rural villages. Ninety-three per cent of rural and 67% of urban respondents believed they could prevent cholera. The mean numbers of correct responses to ten knowledge questions were 7.8 for urban and 8.2 for rural respondents. Practices lagged behind knowledge and attitudes (mean correct response to ten possible: urban 4.9, rural 4.6). Seventy-five per cent of respondents drank untreated water and 91% ate unwashed produce, both of which were identified as cholera risk factors in a concurrently conducted case-control study. CONCLUSIONS: The cholera prevention campaign successfully educated respondents, but did not cause many to adopt preventive behaviours. Direct interpersonal education by community-based personnel may enhance the likelihood of translating education into changes in health behaviours. Knowledge, attitudes, and practices surveys conducted with case-control studies during an epidemic can be an effective method of refining education/control programmes.
PIP: The authors conducted a knowledge, attitudes, and practices (KAP) survey in urban and rural Amazon communities during the 1991 cholera epidemic to assess the effectiveness of the Peruvian Ministry of Health's cholera prevention activities. Diarrhea rates, sources of cholera prevention information, and knowledge, attitudes, and practices regarding 10 cholera prevention measures were determined by surveying the heads of 67 urban and 61 rural households. 25% of 482 urban and 11% of 454 rural household members had diarrhea during the first 3-4 months of the epidemic. Exposure to mass media education was greater in urban areas, while education through interpersonal communication prevailed in rural villages. 93% of rural and 67% of urban respondents believed they could prevent cholera. Rural respondents were slightly more knowledgeable than urban respondents about cholera. Overall, however, practices did not reflect their knowledge and attitudes; 75% of respondents drank untreated water and 91% ate unwashed produce.
Assuntos
Cólera/prevenção & controle , Surtos de Doenças/prevenção & controle , Educação em Saúde , Conhecimentos, Atitudes e Prática em Saúde , Pesquisa sobre Serviços de Saúde/métodos , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Cólera/epidemiologia , Cólera/terapia , Feminino , Comportamentos Relacionados com a Saúde , Educação em Saúde/organização & administração , Humanos , Lactente , Masculino , Meios de Comunicação de Massa , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Peru/epidemiologia , Fatores de RiscoRESUMO
Epidemic cholera struck Peru in January 1991 and spread within a month to the Amazon headwaters. A case-control study was done in the Amazonian city of Iquitos, Peru. Cholera-like illness was associated with eating unwashed fruits and vegetables (odds ratio [OR] = 8.0; 95% confidence limits [CL] = 2.2, 28.9) and drinking untreated water (OR = 2.9; 95% CL = 1.3, 6.4). Consumption of a drink made from toronja, a citrus fruit, was protective against illness (OR = 0.4; 95% CL = 0.2, 0.7). Illness was inversely associated with the quantity of toronja drink consumed (P < .01). Produce has not previously been convincingly documented as a risk factor for cholera; this study underscores the importance of washing produce before eating it. Acidic juices, such as toronja drink (pH 4.1), inhibit vibrio growth and may make contaminated water safer. Wild citrus fruits such as toronja are abundant, cheap, and popular in the Amazon region. Promoting the consumption of toronja drink may be a useful cholera prevention strategy in this region.
Assuntos
Cólera/epidemiologia , Surtos de Doenças , Adulto , Idoso , Idoso de 80 Anos ou mais , Análise de Variância , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Cólera/prevenção & controle , Cólera/transmissão , Frutas , Humanos , Peru/epidemiologia , Fatores de Risco , VerdurasRESUMO
Epidemic cholera struck Peru in January 1991, and spread rapidly. The national cholera case-fatality rate (CFR) was less than 1% in the first six months of the epidemic, but in some rural areas, the CFR exceeded 10%. We investigated cholera mortality in the rural Amazon region, an area with a CFR of 6.3%. We conducted a case-control study, comparing 29 decedents with 61 survivors of recent cholera-like diarrheal illness in 12 villages with a combined CFR of 13.5%. Of 29 decedents, 28 (96%) died in the village or en route to a health facility. Death occurred within 36 hours of illness onset for 83% of the decedents. In 11 (92%) villages, the first or second recognized case was fatal. Death was associated with receiving treatment only at home (odds ratio indeterminate; 95% confidence interval 3.5, indeterminate). Treatment with oral rehydration salts (ORS) was not protective against death for patients who received treatment only at home. Treatment with homemade sugar-salt solution (SSS) was also not protective; fewer than one-third of respondents knew the correct SSS recipe. Most decedents experienced multiple barriers to health care. Cholera victims died rapidly and early in village outbreaks, and few patients had access to health care. Provision of threatened villages with ORS supplies and education in their use before cholera strikes is essential to reducing cholera mortality in this region.
Assuntos
Cólera/mortalidade , Surtos de Doenças , Hidratação/métodos , Adolescente , Adulto , Idoso , Carboidratos , Estudos de Casos e Controles , Criança , Pré-Escolar , Cólera/epidemiologia , Cólera/terapia , Feminino , Serviços de Assistência Domiciliar , Humanos , Entrevistas como Assunto , Masculino , Pessoa de Meia-Idade , Peru/epidemiologia , Soluções para Reidratação/normas , População Rural , Cloreto de Sódio , Transporte de PacientesRESUMO
Desde el inicio de la epidemia de cólera en el Perú el Programa de entrenamiento en Epidemiología de Campo de la Oficina General de Epidemiología del Ministerio de Salud ha desarrollado diversas investigaciones con el propósito de mejorar la efectividad de las medidas de intervención para el control del problema. A través de la aplicación y diseños metodológicos estandarizados en las áreas más afectadas, se ha encontrado que la seroprevalencia de infección por Vibrio cholerae alcanza a 25-30 de cada 100 habitantes. Los factores de riesgo más significativos incluyen consumo de agua no tratada y de alimentos sanitariamente deficientes. La severidad de cuadro clínico colérico está asociada significativamente con la presencia de grupo sanguíneo "O". La letalidad del cólera está asociada con el tratamiento intradomiciliario del enfermo y la automedicación familiar. El desconocimiento acerca de los modos de contagio, tratamiento y prácticas preventivas incrementa el riesgo de enfermar con cólera. Finalmente, la magnitud del cólera en la población infantil parece ser mayor en el escenario comunitario que en el hospitalario. Los estudios epidemiológicos en el campo pueden ayudar a identificar medidas de control más específicas y más efectivas