Over 170 cholera infections in Mexico

More than 170 cholera cases in Mexico

20/10/2013

The number of cholera cases in Mexico has risen to 171. So far there has been a death.

Cases in several states
The health authorities in the country said the number of cholera cases in Mexico has risen to 171. So far, there has been a death. The state of Hidalgo north of the capital Mexico City was the hardest hit. Cases have also been reported from the states of Veracruz, Estado de Mexico, San Luis Potosi and the capital district. There were 86 women and 85 men aged from three months to 88 years affected. Of the patients, 70 percent could have been treated on an outpatient basis.

Cholera can be deadly
Every year, between three and five million people worldwide contract cholera. The disease is one of the serious infectious diseases that, if left untreated, can lead to the death of the person affected. Mostly the disease is transmitted via contaminated water or food. Infected people get very strong diarrhea and the body loses enormous amounts of fluid. In 99 percent of cases, the disease is curable when the extreme water and salt loss is treated. Travelers can prevent by drinking only boiled or bottled water. Fruit should be peeled and food thoroughly cooked. Frequent hand washing also reduces the risk of infection.

Government calls for preventive measures
The cholera outbreak started after the storms in September. According to experts, however, there is little that links them, as in the state of Guerrero, for example, which was hit hardest by the tropical storms, no case of infection has been reported so far. According to biotechnology professor Rodrigo Balam Muñoz Soto of the Institute of Technology in Monterrey, water taken in from Haiti is thought to be the source of the pathogen. However, there is no reason for greater concern. Based on experience with the cholera pathogen of the 1990s, Mexican authorities could well prevent their spread to urban centers, Muñoz Soto said. The population was called by the government to preventive measures. (Ad)

Image: Cornelia Menichelli