Coping with Cholera: the Importance of Coordinated Planning

RESUMO

Cholera epidemics in Zimbabwe; Haiti; and Nigeria have grabbed worldwide headlines in the last couple of years as beleagured health agencies battled to contain a rising tide of patients. Is this resurgence a pathological issue; or simply the consequence of poor public health provision? Superficially there should be little excuse for the epidemics of the size we have witnessed recently (more than 1500 died in the outbreak in Nigeria in 2010); cholera is not a mystery illness; and measures to contain an outbreak are known. But the logistics can be daunting and if health systems are weak; they can quickly become overwhelmed. Can one prepare? Of course. and in fact it is a must. As with all infectious diseases; lessons from one campaign will educate and illuminate actions for another. Hospitals and communities should be undertaking regular risk assessments; and providing quality training and resources to enable swift and decisive action the moment a problem is identified. Until the 1980s most outbreaks were managed at the local level using the best available common sense. Apart from in the most densely populated areas; this was largely successful. Slowly; public health experts started comparing notes and the compilation of guidelines for the control of cholera outbreaks started to emerge with epidemiologists from WHO helping to `join up the dots' between experiences in different continents and countries