Taking precautions against cholera

Health workers in Guinea-Bissau participated in August in a series of seminars on the detection and treatment of cholera, run by Medecins sans Frontieres (MSF) in collaboration with the Ministry of Health and the World Health Organisation (WHO). The seminars, which also dealt with preventive hygiene, placed emphasis on early warning and rapid reaction in the event of cholera outbreaks, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) reported in its situation report for Guinea-Bissau for 16-31 August. Guinea-Bissau had cholera epidemics in 1986, 1987, 1994 and 1996-1997, and they all broke out in October, at the end of the rainy season, according to MSF. It said in a recent release that each epidemic affected more people and a larger area than the previous one. According to OCHA, the 1997 epidemic caused over 20,000 deaths. OCHA reported that the paralysis of Guinea-Bissau's health system and the precarious conditions of displaced persons returning to Bissau motivated the European Community Humanitarian Office (ECHO) to provide financial support to MSF for the anti-cholera project. In addition to the seminars, the project includes the production of a cholera guide, which MSF said it planned to complete in September. The guide is to include general information on cholera and how to deal with it. Once it is accepted by the Ministry of Health, it is to be published and distributed throughout the country, according to MSF.