Cholera, Diarrhea and Dysentery Update, Mexico
By Stan Deresinski, MD, FACP, FIDSA, Clinical Professor of Medicine, Stanford University, Hospital Epidemiologist, Sequoia Hospital, Redwood City, CA, Editor of Infectious Disease Alert
On October 4, 2013, the Mexican government reported that 79 cases of cholera, a disease that had been absent from the country for more than a decade, had been identified in the country. Two of the cases had occurred in the State of Hidalgo, while the remaining 2 were from the neighboring Federal District of Mexico City. They also reported that the outbreak strain, which is a toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O:1 Ogawa, was the same as that currently present in Haiti, the Dominican Republic, and China. The strain differs from the one that circulated in Mexico during the last sustained period of autochthonous transmission during 1991-2001. CDC has issued a Level 1 Watch (Practice Usual Precautions) and provided instructions by which travelers to Mexico can protect themselves.1
Reference
1. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention. Cholera in Mexico: http://wwwnc.cdc.gov/travel/notices/watch/cholera-in-mexico