Profile of Suspected Cholera Patients during May – November 2017 in Sanaa City Secondary Analysis
Mohammed Qassime *
Health System Analyst, World Health Organization, Yemen.
Ryad Al- Nemri
Department of Disease Control, General Health Office, Sana’a, Yemen.
Mutahar Al- Qassimi
Department of Disease Control, Ministry of Public Health and Population, Yemen.
*Author to whom correspondence should be addressed.
Abstract
Introduction: From 27 April to 3 August 2017, 453,175 suspected cholera cases and 1,930 deaths (CFR: 0.4%) have been reported in 95.6% (22/23) of Yemen governorates, and 89.2% (297/333) of the districts.
The five most affected governorates were Amanat Al-Asima, Al Hudaydah, Hajjah, Amran and Dhamar with 53% (239,877/453,175) of the cases reported since 27 April 2017. In amanat al Asimah (Sana'a city) 55563 cases 61 deaths are registered in that period with case fatality rate 0.1% and attack rate 1.68%
Objectives: To study Profile of suspected cholera patients in Sanaa city.
Materials and Methods: A retrospective descriptive study was carried out by using secondary analysis of available data collected from (DTCs), (ORCs) and other health facilities by department of epidemiological surveillance – Sanaa city health office.
Results: A total of 92995 suspected cholera patients were included in the study whereas the average age of study subjects was 22.7 years where standard deviation (SD) 18.8 most affected age groups were (15-29),(5-14),(<5) the predominant of the study subjects from Sanaa city (96%) from Ma'ain, Bani-Alhareth, AND Al-Sabain districts Most cases are reported from DTCs (59300), ORCs (29547) Cases starts to appear in week 17 reaches a peak in weeks 24,25 and then slowly decreases. 155 suspected cholera cases were culture positives
Conclusion: 1. Cholera is one of the urgent health problems in Sana’a city
- Cholera distribution is not gender sensitive, the most affected age group is (15-29) years, followed by (5-14) then under five
- Cases are mainly distributed in Ma'ain, Bani-Alhareth, & Al-Sabain within Sana’a city (50% of the total cases).
- The main cholera health care facilities are mainly DTCs and ORCs supported by WHO & UNICEF
- Most of the subjects seek medical care within the first 2 days after onset of symptoms
- The peak of cholera suspected cases is registered in weeks 24 & 24.
- Confirmed cholera cases by culture are 155 from 655 specimen tested whereas 1984 are positive by cholera RDT
Recommendations:1. More cholera control interventions are necessary and urgent to eradicate it.
- More field related research must be carried out to guide control and management interventions.
- Some interventions must be concentrated on the age groups 5-14 & under five and at the most affected areas.
Keywords: Cholera, Sanaa city, World Health Organization, Arab Spring.