Algeria: Meningitis outbreak - 19 cases in Blida, 1 suspected death in Biskra - family members under observation

[alert]

Published Date: 2013-01-04 08:06:44
Subject: PRO/EDR> Meningitis - Algeria: (BL) RFI
Archive Number: 20130104.1481100

MENINGITIS - ALGERIA: (BLIDA) REQUEST FOR INFORMATION
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A ProMED-mail post

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International Society for Infectious Diseases

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Date: Wed 2 Jan 2013
Source: ubalert/Disaster Alert Network [edited]

http://www.ubalert.com/Gp5

13 Cases of Meningitis Prompts Closure of Private Clinic in Algeria
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Authorities said the Amina clinic in the town of Chiffa was closed by authorities as a precautionary measure following the detection of 13 meningitis cases. According to Dr. Zenati Ahmed, the director of health in the city of Blida, the cases of meningitis have been reported in patients who sought treatment at the clinic.

Based on health records, the 1st patient came in on 6 Dec 2012, although the alert was issued on 24 Dec 2012 following the diagnosis of additional cases. The patients were then transferred to a hospital in the town of Boufarik. Since then, 2 patients died including a 57-year-old woman and a 27-year-old man. Ahmed said that an investigation is ongoing to determine the cause of the outbreak or potential contamination in the clinic. He added that the investigation was initiated by the specialized services of the Ministry of Health, Population and Hospital Reform, aside from investigations by other relevant authorities.

It is worth mentioning that this is not the 1st time that health authorities are shutting down a private clinic due to a possible disease outbreak. In 2008, the clinic Rosiers Blida was also closed down.

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[The news report above does not indicate the microbial etiology in the 13 meningitis cases in the Algerian town of Chiffa. Algeria is not one of the countries in the African meningitis belt. The African meningitis belt, which is plagued yearly by large epidemics of meningococcal meningitis, lies in the sub-Saharan region of Africa (http://www.cdc.gov/ncidod/eid/vol9no10/03-0170.htm).

The news report above also does not clearly state if the 13 cases were admitted with meningitis that was acquired in the community or were admitted to the hospital for some other diagnosis and acquired meningitis only after admission to the hospital. From the news article, there seems to be some implication of "potential contamination in the clinic" that prompted closure of the clinic as a "preventive" measure. (See ProMed-mail posts of the nosocomial fungal meningitis outbreak in the United States this past year.) A clarification of these issues would be appreciated.

Blida, with a population of 265 000, is a city in Algeria, located at the base of the Tell Atlas (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blida). It is the capital of Blida Province, and it is located about 45 km (28 miles) southwest of Algiers, the national capital. Chiffa is a town in the Tell Atlas Mountains of northern Algeria, about 9 km (5.6 miles) west of Blida (For a map of this area, see http://distancecalculator.globefeed....olng=2.8288889).

[alert]

Re: Blida, Algeria: 13 cases of (fungal?) meningitis cause closing of clinic

Hat-tip Shiloh. It doesn't indicate the etiological agent involved, but it seems unlikely to be the fungal agents implicated in the US, as it has nothing to do with a bad drug.

http://www.letempsdz.com//content/view/83027/177/

08-01-2013
The clinic Amina Chiffa (Blida) risk closing for 6 months

The nosocomial infection causing meningitis cases

The results of the investigation launched by the Ministry of Health and Hospital Reform following 19 cases of meningitis including two deaths recorded at the private clinic Amina, related to the SIM group, were announced today.
Investigators found that cases of meningitis due to poor sterilization of medical equipment in the operating theater. It is therefore a nosocomial infection.

Note that the national prevalence rate of nosocomial infections in Algeria between 12 and 15&#37;, according to the latest statistics put forward by the Ministry of Health in 2012.

The surgical site infections topped the list, followed respectively by pulmonary infections and urinary tract infections.

However, there is a national program of fight against nosocomial infections which aims to spread best practices in hospital hygiene and training of health personnel in hospital hygiene.

In this context, it was noted that health facilities were provided with materials suitable for sterilization and disposal of potentially infectious waste.

This is obviously not a private and public health. For the latter, the controls on activities were intensified in the last two years.

The Ministry of Health, following numerous reports by previous campaigns, conducted the closing of not less than 180 clinics across the country and sent warnings to sixty others.

Walis have been sensitized to this issue audit services at these facilities. In the case of Amina clinical Chiffa, in Blida, it may, according to sources familiar with the matter, a closure for 6 months.

As for the victims and their families, they will have a civil party to attack the leaders of this clinical justice. Moreover, it should be noted that cases of meningitis and even recorded cases of death within the "medical error".

Health legislation in force does nothing for this case. Note that the exact magnitude of the problem of medical errors is largely unknown in the absence of reliable statistics, as well as legal documents.

However, the examples are legion: to recall the case of the dead baby in a clinical ophthalmology at Constantine whose parents lead a legal battle since 2008 no thank you.

Others are victims of neglect and the first specialty is blamed gynecology. The number of complaints that result in justice does not fully reflect reality, but it is steadily increasing in recent years.

[sharon sanders]

Biskra is about 100 miles Southeast of Blida.

machine translation

The death of a person suspected of having meningitis
Saturday, January 26, 2013 Biskra:. Fakroun




Hospital lived'' Ashour Xian'' in boys Jalal state Biskra, the day before yesterday, alert because of injury doubts family man, aged 34 years, disease meningitis which led to his death. According to several sources that the hospital had received family inhabiting the municipality of Sidi Khaled and consists of 13 members, was suspected of having the disease, meningitis, having observed symptoms of fever, fatigue and salivation, where underwent treatment and medical tests. It is noticeable that the two individuals who evacuated members of this family situation under medical observation and were subjected to treatment. And increased uncertainty over after a family member died. According our sources that a committee of the Ministry of Health replaced the hospital to find out the truth of the matter, while Hun, deputy director of the hospital of the repercussions of this issue, and a description of death recorded Badah because cold sharp, and the victim was sick before converting to the hospital, adding that all the injured have returned to their homes.

http://www.elkhabar.com/ar/watan/320072.html