Cholera outbreak in an informal settlement at Shahpur huts, Panchkula District, Haryana State, India, 2019
Abhishek Jain1, Sushma Choudhary2, Ekta Saroha3, Pankaj Bhatnagar4, Pauline Harvey5
1 India Epidemic Intelligence Service Officer, National Public Health Surveillance Project, World Health Organization Country Office, Delhi, India 2 Public Health Specialist, South Asia Field Epidemiology and Technology Network, Delhi, India 3 Public Health Specialist, Division of Global Health Protection, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Delhi, India 4 Deputy Team Lead, National Public Health Surveillance Project, World Health Organization Country Office, Delhi, India 5 Team Lead, National Public Health Surveillance Project, World Health Organization Country Office, Delhi, India; Team Lead, Global Immunization Division, U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, Atlanta, Georgia, USA
Correspondence Address:
Abhishek Jain Office of SRTL-WHO, Room Number 8, Second Floor NHM Building, Old Jail Road, Arera Hills, Bhopal - 462 011, Madhya Pradesh India
 Source of Support: None, Conflict of Interest: None  | Check |
DOI: 10.4103/ijph.IJPH_970_20
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In September 2019, after a reported death due to acute diarrheal disease in Shahpur village, Panchkula district, Haryana state, India, we conducted an outbreak investigation to identify the etiological agent, estimate the burden of disease, and make recommendations to prevent future outbreaks. The suspected cholera case was a resident of Shahpur huts, ≥1 year of age having ≥3 loose stools within a 24-h period between September 1 and 28, 2019 and a laboratory-confirmed cholera case, whose stool specimen tested positive for Vibrio cholerae. We identified 196 suspected cholera cases with a median age of 18 years (range: 1–65 years); 54% (106) being female. The overall attack rate was 8% (196/2,602), and the case fatality rate was 1% (2/196). Tested samples of water from tanks (n = 6), sewage effluent (n = 2), and 22% (4/18) of stool specimens collected from suspected cases were positive for V. cholerae. Strengthening surveillance, improving water, and sanitation systems are recommended to prevent future cholera outbreaks.
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