Sanitary and quarantine control specialists of Kazakhstan detected cholera in a citizen of Kyrgyzstan who arrived on an Air Astana flight to Almaty from Delhi. The press service of the Ministry of Health of Kazakhstan reported.
According to it, the Kyrgyzstani woman was returning home via Almaty. Sanitary and quarantine control specialists suspected the passenger had an infectious disease. Based on the results of the examination, she was diagnosed with cholera.
Medical workers identified a circle of close contact passengers and prescribed a laboratory examination for them. The patient and the passengers who had contact with her were hospitalized in the city’s infectious diseases hospital. Disinfection was carried out on board the aircraft.
Doctors carried out awareness-raising work among passengers on the plane about the symptoms of cholera and preventive measures with recommendations to immediately seek medical help if symptoms appear. «Timely detection and localization of the source of infection by epidemiological services made it possible to prevent the spread of cholera within the country,» the Ministry of Health explained.
Cholera is an acute infectious disease with a fecal-oral transmission mechanism, caused by Vibrio cholerae and typically characterized by diarrhea and vomiting, quickly leading to dehydration. Without treatment, this disease can be fatal.
Cholera affects from 1.3 to 4 million people worldwide each year. From 21,000 to 143,000 people die from it.
