Via EIN News, a PR Newswire release: Agence de Médecine Préventive Organizes 3rd Consortium Meeting of the African Cholera Surveillance Network (Africhol). Excerpt:
The Agence de Médecine Préventive (AMP) held its third annual Africhol consortium meeting in Abidjan, Côte d'Ivoire, from November 27-28, 2012.
Established in 2009 with funding from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Africhol aims to determine the burden of cholera in sub-Saharan Africa through a network of surveillance sites in Cameroon, Côte d'Ivoire, DRC, Guinea, Kenya, Mozambique, Tanzania, Togo, and Uganda. A consortium of organizations involved in the research, prevention, and control of cholera in Africa develops and implements the surveillance network.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It can kill within hours if left untreated. Cholera is a major public health problem in Africa. Outbreaks continue to occur due mainly to lack of clean water, poor sanitation facilities, and suboptimal food-handling practices.
An obstacle to the prevention and control of cholera in Africa is limitations in existing surveillance systems. According to estimates of the World Health Organization (WHO), there are 3-5 million cholera cases and 100,00-120,000 deaths annually, but only around 200,000 cases, and 5,000 deaths, are reported.
Africhol complements national and WHO cholera surveillance systems and works with different global networks such as the Coalition for Cholera Prevention and Control. The project generates surveillance data that informs appropriate public health interventions such as water, sanitation, and hygiene measures, as well as vaccination.I've put a link to Africhol in the Hot Zones Sources list.
