Cuba scrambles to fight rare cholera outbreak

Posted on Monday, 07.09.12

Cuba scrambles to fight rare cholera outbreak
By ANNE-MARIE GARCIA
Associated Press

HAVANA -- Authorities in eastern Cuba are in full prevention mode to
contain a rare cholera outbreak amid fears that it may have spread to
the capital, distributing chlorine and water purification drops and
quarantining hospital patients with diarrhea until they are checked for
the disease.

In the eastern city of Manzanillo, in Granma province, cars crawl
through the streets with loudspeakers reminding people of the importance
of good hygiene, and the sale of oysters at private kiosks has been
suspended, according to several residents interviewed by The Associated
Press. But there has been no travel quarantine on the city, and the
streets are calm even if some people are jittery.

"I haven't seen any panic or anything like that," David Chavez, a
40-year-old computer worker, said by phone from Manzanillo, 430 miles
(700 kilometers) east of Havana. "But what's certain is that there are
some who are scared. And when somebody gets diarrhea, they immediately
go to the hospital."

The precautions follow last week's announcement of three deaths and 53
diagnosed cases of the waterborne disease, which hadn't been seen in
Cuba for many years. Cholera can kill quickly through dehydration but is
easily treatable if caught in time. A Health Ministry bulletin said the
outbreak was under control.

The government has not responded to requests for comment on reports that
several cases have been found in Havana, nor has it followed up last
week's announcement with more information, fueling rumors and
contradictory stories.

Residents of the capital's El Cerro neighborhood told the AP that a
father and daughter had been diagnosed with cholera and were being
treated at a local hospital, but it was not clear where they had
contracted the disease. The residents spoke on condition of anonymity
for fear they would get into trouble for talking to international
journalists.

The BBC reported over the weekend that at least one case of cholera had
been detected in Havana, without naming its sources. The Miami Herald,
quoting an apparent dissident who lives in Granma province, said more
than 1,000 people had been sickened. And exile blogs such as Cafe Fuerte
have reported additional deaths, citing residents and unnamed officials.

U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen, a staunch anti-Castro congresswoman from
Florida, accused the Cuban government of withholding information to
avoid scaring away tourists.

Amid the uncertainty, there were also reports that airports in
southeastern Mexico had issued a medical alert and were screening
passengers from Cuba. But Mexican officials denied that.

"There has not been even a single passenger suspected" of carrying
cholera, said Luis Vazquez, spokesman for the Yucatan state health
agency. "Cuba is a country with a very good epidemiological system. They
don't even let (sick) passengers leave."

Cuba has a well-organized civil defense system capable of rapidly
mobilizing government agencies and citizens' groups, as it does for
tropical storms and hurricanes. Brigades of workers routinely scrutinize
every dwelling and other property to eliminate standing water where
mosquitos bearing another tropical disease, dengue, could breed.

The country also has battalions of well-trained doctors and nurses, many
of whom played a key role in fighting a much deadlier cholera outbreak
in nearby Haiti after that country's devastating earthquake.

The Manzanillo outbreak happened in poor outlying neighborhoods that
rely on wells for their water. Cuba's Health Ministry said in its
announcement last week that it was collecting samples from the wells,
sealing off tainted water supplies and disinfecting hydraulic systems.

Doctors were going door to door to look for people running a fever and
to advise residents about preventive measures such as using chlorine
drops to disinfect drinking water.

Hotels in Manzanillo were accepting guests as usual, but have ramped up
hygienic measures. At the Guacanayabo Hotel everyone was washing their
hands and feet in buckets with chlorinated water and the pool was being
treated daily.

"There are meetings every day at noon to go over how everything's going,
and so far there are no problems here," hotel worker Luleima Ortiz said
by phone.

Some people in Havana were also taking precautions.

One man, a barber, said he was washing his hands more often, avoiding
touching his mouth at work and boiling his drinking water.

Another, a street vendor, got rid of the cardboard box he had used to
hold his sweet pastries, replacing it with a plastic one that's easier
to keep clean and does a better job keeping the flies away.

"I, as a vendor, must protect and take care of others," Alfredo Bruceta
said.

Associated Press journalists Franklin Reyes and Peter Orsi in Havana,
and E. Eduardo Castillo in Mexico City, contributed to this report.

http://www.miamiherald.com/2012/07/09/2888254/cuba-scrambles-to-fight-rare-cholera.html