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A Retrospective Study: Cholera in Baghdad 2015

Received: 15 July 2022     Accepted: 29 July 2022     Published: 29 December 2022
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Abstract

From June to December 2015, Iraq's capital city, Baghdad, suffered a cholera epidemic. Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital (AYTH) is the second main hospital in Baghdad City, located close to the epidemic epicentre and recorded events as they unfolded. A retrospective audit of hospital records was done in this study. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected on the population, including adult patients admitted to AYTH with a confirmed diagnosis of cholera by the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL). The confirmed cases were 940. Of those cases, 21% attended AYTH. Initial belt zone cases totalled 44.16% of hospital cases, of which 65 were dependent on agricultural products from neighbouring farms. All patients were positive for the Inaba Vibrio Cholera strain. Baghdad’s cholera epidemic may have resulted from inhabitants’ dependence on local water sources for agricultural needs. During summer, severed water supplies denied Baghdad’s Dijla River water access forced farmers and locals to source well water. To protect the public and environmental safety, groundwater must be accurately and regularly tested in the region. Safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facilities must be guaranteed.

Published in Science Journal of Public Health (Volume 10, Issue 6)
DOI 10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13
Page(s) 252-255
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Cholera Epidemic, Inaba Vibrio Cholera, Water Safety, Iraq, Environmental Safety, Clinical Data

References
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Cite This Article
  • APA Style

    Haitham Noaman Al-Koubaisy, Celine Tabche, Salman Rawaf. (2022). A Retrospective Study: Cholera in Baghdad 2015. Science Journal of Public Health, 10(6), 252-255. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13

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    ACS Style

    Haitham Noaman Al-Koubaisy; Celine Tabche; Salman Rawaf. A Retrospective Study: Cholera in Baghdad 2015. Sci. J. Public Health 2022, 10(6), 252-255. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13

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    AMA Style

    Haitham Noaman Al-Koubaisy, Celine Tabche, Salman Rawaf. A Retrospective Study: Cholera in Baghdad 2015. Sci J Public Health. 2022;10(6):252-255. doi: 10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13

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  • @article{10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13,
      author = {Haitham Noaman Al-Koubaisy and Celine Tabche and Salman Rawaf},
      title = {A Retrospective Study: Cholera in Baghdad 2015},
      journal = {Science Journal of Public Health},
      volume = {10},
      number = {6},
      pages = {252-255},
      doi = {10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.sjph.20221006.13},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.sjph.20221006.13},
      abstract = {From June to December 2015, Iraq's capital city, Baghdad, suffered a cholera epidemic. Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital (AYTH) is the second main hospital in Baghdad City, located close to the epidemic epicentre and recorded events as they unfolded. A retrospective audit of hospital records was done in this study. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected on the population, including adult patients admitted to AYTH with a confirmed diagnosis of cholera by the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL). The confirmed cases were 940. Of those cases, 21% attended AYTH. Initial belt zone cases totalled 44.16% of hospital cases, of which 65 were dependent on agricultural products from neighbouring farms. All patients were positive for the Inaba Vibrio Cholera strain. Baghdad’s cholera epidemic may have resulted from inhabitants’ dependence on local water sources for agricultural needs. During summer, severed water supplies denied Baghdad’s Dijla River water access forced farmers and locals to source well water. To protect the public and environmental safety, groundwater must be accurately and regularly tested in the region. Safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facilities must be guaranteed.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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    AB  - From June to December 2015, Iraq's capital city, Baghdad, suffered a cholera epidemic. Al-Yarmouk Teaching Hospital (AYTH) is the second main hospital in Baghdad City, located close to the epidemic epicentre and recorded events as they unfolded. A retrospective audit of hospital records was done in this study. Clinical and sociodemographic data were collected on the population, including adult patients admitted to AYTH with a confirmed diagnosis of cholera by the Central Public Health Laboratory (CPHL). The confirmed cases were 940. Of those cases, 21% attended AYTH. Initial belt zone cases totalled 44.16% of hospital cases, of which 65 were dependent on agricultural products from neighbouring farms. All patients were positive for the Inaba Vibrio Cholera strain. Baghdad’s cholera epidemic may have resulted from inhabitants’ dependence on local water sources for agricultural needs. During summer, severed water supplies denied Baghdad’s Dijla River water access forced farmers and locals to source well water. To protect the public and environmental safety, groundwater must be accurately and regularly tested in the region. Safe drinking water and sanitary toilet facilities must be guaranteed.
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Author Information
  • Department of Medicine, College of Medicine, University of Anbar, Ramadi, Iraq

  • Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training, London, UK

  • Department of Primary Care and Public Health, Imperial College London, WHO Collaborating Centre for Public Health Education and Training, London, UK

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