Posted on August - 14 - 2010
U.S. Hopeful Pakistan Can Avert Big Cholera Outbreak
A senior U.S. aid official said he was optimistic a serious cholera outbreak could be averted in flood-hit Pakistan after emergency steps taken by international and Pakistani relief groups.
At least one case of cholera was confirmed and several more were suspected, said Mark Ward, acting director of the U.S. Agency for International Development’s office for foreign disaster assistance. Epic floods have affected more than 14 million people in Pakistan.
“The good news is that we know where it is and we can get resources in there to help because of the disease early warning system,” said Ward, referring to a system set up by the World Health Organization to quickly detect any cases of cholera or other waterborne illnesses common in flooding. Read more…