RIDGETOWN, Barbados, (CMC) – The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) says it is seeking to strengthen cholera surveillance in the region by focusing on preparing national laboratories in the Caribbean with the means to identify and respond to potential imported cases of the virus.
“It is crucial that national laboratories have the tools they need for the timely detection of Vibrio cholera,” said Jean-Marc Gabastou, PAHO’s Regional Advisor in Public Health Laboratory Services, adding that “this is vital to ensure countries can respond to outbreaks, treat cases and prevent further spread.”
PAHO said as a result, it held a virtual three-day virtual training workshop last week conducted by the Costa Rican Institute of Research and Training in Nutrition and Health.
It said the training was attended by 86 laboratory technicians from 13 countries and territories in the Caribbean, including Antigua and Barbuda, Bahamas, Barbados, Belize, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, St Kitts and Nevis, Saint Lucia, St Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and Turks and Caicos, as well as representatives from the Caribbean Public Health Agency.
“The sessions focused on a variety of factors related to the laboratory diagnosis of Vibrio cholera, the bacteria that causes cholera, including the cultivation of samples from suspected areas, good laboratory practices, biosafety, reading and interpreting biochemical tests, PCR testing for virulence factors, antimicrobial susceptibility; and the correct use of Rapid Diagnostic Tests, among other topics,” PAHO said.
PAHO said the current outbreak of cholera in Haiti began on October 2 last year and the first case was reported in the Dominican Republic later that month.
It said while the outbreak is currently contained to Hispaniola, a cholera risk assessment published by PAHO in December 2022 considered the risk of imported cases to other countries and territories of the region to be moderate.
“This is due to ongoing migration from Haiti, as well as the ability of countries to detect and respond to outbreaks, and the burnout of health workers following the pandemic,” PAHO said, calling on all countries of the region to strengthen and maintain cholera surveillance and to prepare to detect and respond to suspected cases early in order to provide adequate treatment and prevent spread.
Cholera is an acute infection caused by the ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera. It causes watery diarrhea which, without timely treatment, can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death.