sharon sanders
Editor-in-Chief & President
<table id="apex_layout_271110100662109808" class="formlayout" summary=""><tbody><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Archive Number</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">20100206.0401</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Published Date</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">06-FEB-2010</td></tr><tr><td align="right" nowrap="nowrap">Subject</td> <td colspan="1" rowspan="1" align="left" nowrap="nowrap">PRO/EDR> Meningococcemia, fatal - Dominican Republic ex Haiti</td></tr> </tbody></table>
MENINGOCOCCEMIA, FATAL - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ex HAITI
****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Mon 1 Feb 2010
Source: El Diario [edited and translated by Jorge Gonzalez-Mendoza]
<http://www.impre.com/eldiariony/not.../bacteria-mata-a-pastor-evangel-171172-1.html>
The Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic put the
relatives of an evangelical preacher under close surveillance for
meningococcal disease. He died in the early morning Saturday (30 Jan
2010) because of meningococcemia, after becoming infected in Haiti,
where he went to help the victims of the recent earthquake.
The Dominican Republic's Ministry of Health, Dr. Bautista Rojas-Gomez,
declared that prophylactic measures have been set in place for close
contacts of the late 63-year-old evangelical preacher who came to
Port-Au-Prince together with 12 other members of his congregation, The
Church Of God Of Prophecy, located in Villa Faron, in Santo Domingo
(Capital City of Dominican Republic).
The victim stayed in Haiti for one week, from 21 - 28 Jan 2010. His
congregation worked in fixing a temporary shelter for orphan children
that was destroyed by the earthquake. He died some days after having
been admitted to the UCE Medical Center in Santo Domingo.
"We located the place where the evangelical mission came from, the
places where the victim was in Port-Au-Prince, as well as his close
contacts, in order to start surveillance and chemoprophylaxis
indicated for these cases," Dr. Rojas-Gomez pointed out. He affirmed
that the (Dominican Republic) Government is working [very] hard in
preventing diseases such as meningococcemia, a bloodstream infection
caused by _Neisseria meningitidis_, a bacterium frequently living in
the respiratory tract.
Dr. Rojas Gomez said the Ministry of Public Health [has maintained]
surveillance measures since shortly after the earthquake. He also
[said] that Haitians crossing the Dominican Republic border are given
malaria prophylaxis and vaccination against tetanus. However, illegal
aliens do not go through legal migration posts while trying to avoid
authorities and regulatory control.
Neither the Pastor nor his fellow congregation members received any
vaccine when entering Haiti, in spite of sanitary control measures in
force.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED Moderator Jaime R. Torres
<torresjaime@cantv.net>
[Meningococcal disease is caused by a Gram-negative diplococcus,
_Neisseria meningitidis_. Meningococci are classified into serogroups
on the basis of the composition of the capsular polysaccharide. The 5
major meningococcal serogroups associated with disease are A, B, C, Y,
and W-135. At any time, 5-10 percent of the population may be
asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriers of _N. meningitidis_.
Person-to-person transmission occurs via respiratory secretions or
saliva. Transmission is facilitated by close contact and crowded
living conditions. Meningococcal disease occurs worldwide. In
non-epidemic situations, invasive disease (e.g., meningococcemia and
meningitis) occurs at a rate of 0.5-10 cases per 100 000 population
and hundreds of cases per 100 000 population occur in epidemic
situations <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5407a1.htm>.
No patient with meningococcal disease, other than the Dominican
preacher, has apparently been reported among Haitians or Dominicans.
Photographs of lesions that accompany meningococcemia can be found at
<http://www.vaccineinformation.org/photos/meni_mt002.jpg>.
Close contacts of patients with invasive meningococcal disease who are
themselves at increased risk of acquiring the disease are household
members, day care center contacts, and persons directly exposed to the
patient's oral secretions (e.g., through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
or kissing). Chemoprophylaxis is given to these close contacts because
their attack rate for secondary meningococcal disease is 500-800 times
greater than among the general population
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5407a1.htm>.
Rifampin, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone are 90-95 percent effective in
reducing nasopharyngeal carriage of _N. meningitdis_ and are all
acceptable antimicrobial agents for chemoprophylaxis. Administering
chemoprophylaxis to persons who are not close contacts of patients
usually is not recommended. Neither oropharyngeal nor nasopharyngeal
cultures for _N. meningitidis_ are useful in deciding who should
receive chemoprophylaxis.
Haiti suffered an earthquake on 12 Jan 2010 with a magnitude of 7.0.
Multiple aftershocks, with magnitudes as high as 6.0, followed. The
earthquake centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of
Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. Approximately 3.5 million people live
in the earthquake-affected areas. Much of the capital area,
particularly critical infrastructure that includes basic utilities
(power, water, sanitation), transportation, communication and health
care facilities, has been destroyed, with heavy loss of staff. This
has severely compromised the ability to respond to this crisis. Prime
Minister Jean-Max Bellerive stated on 3 Feb 2010 that 200 000 people
have died and 300 000 have been injured
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...iti-earthquake-death-toll-reaches-200000.html>.
WHO has issued a public health risk assessment to facilitate the
response of those aiding the earthquake-affected population in Haiti
<http://www.who.int/diseasecontrol_emergencies/publications/haiti_earthquake_20100118.pdf>.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic occupy the Caribbean island of
Hispaniola in the Greater Antillean archipelago. A
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Hispaniola can be found at
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?name=Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic&g=3508796&v=19,-70.667,6>. -
Mod.ML]
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,81224
MENINGOCOCCEMIA, FATAL - DOMINICAN REPUBLIC ex HAITI
****************************************************
A ProMED-mail post
<http://www.promedmail.org>
ProMED-mail is a program of the
International Society for Infectious Diseases
<<http://www.isid.org>
Date: Mon 1 Feb 2010
Source: El Diario [edited and translated by Jorge Gonzalez-Mendoza]
<http://www.impre.com/eldiariony/not.../bacteria-mata-a-pastor-evangel-171172-1.html>
The Ministry of Public Health of the Dominican Republic put the
relatives of an evangelical preacher under close surveillance for
meningococcal disease. He died in the early morning Saturday (30 Jan
2010) because of meningococcemia, after becoming infected in Haiti,
where he went to help the victims of the recent earthquake.
The Dominican Republic's Ministry of Health, Dr. Bautista Rojas-Gomez,
declared that prophylactic measures have been set in place for close
contacts of the late 63-year-old evangelical preacher who came to
Port-Au-Prince together with 12 other members of his congregation, The
Church Of God Of Prophecy, located in Villa Faron, in Santo Domingo
(Capital City of Dominican Republic).
The victim stayed in Haiti for one week, from 21 - 28 Jan 2010. His
congregation worked in fixing a temporary shelter for orphan children
that was destroyed by the earthquake. He died some days after having
been admitted to the UCE Medical Center in Santo Domingo.
"We located the place where the evangelical mission came from, the
places where the victim was in Port-Au-Prince, as well as his close
contacts, in order to start surveillance and chemoprophylaxis
indicated for these cases," Dr. Rojas-Gomez pointed out. He affirmed
that the (Dominican Republic) Government is working [very] hard in
preventing diseases such as meningococcemia, a bloodstream infection
caused by _Neisseria meningitidis_, a bacterium frequently living in
the respiratory tract.
Dr. Rojas Gomez said the Ministry of Public Health [has maintained]
surveillance measures since shortly after the earthquake. He also
[said] that Haitians crossing the Dominican Republic border are given
malaria prophylaxis and vaccination against tetanus. However, illegal
aliens do not go through legal migration posts while trying to avoid
authorities and regulatory control.
Neither the Pastor nor his fellow congregation members received any
vaccine when entering Haiti, in spite of sanitary control measures in
force.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED Moderator Jaime R. Torres
<torresjaime@cantv.net>
[Meningococcal disease is caused by a Gram-negative diplococcus,
_Neisseria meningitidis_. Meningococci are classified into serogroups
on the basis of the composition of the capsular polysaccharide. The 5
major meningococcal serogroups associated with disease are A, B, C, Y,
and W-135. At any time, 5-10 percent of the population may be
asymptomatic nasopharyngeal carriers of _N. meningitidis_.
Person-to-person transmission occurs via respiratory secretions or
saliva. Transmission is facilitated by close contact and crowded
living conditions. Meningococcal disease occurs worldwide. In
non-epidemic situations, invasive disease (e.g., meningococcemia and
meningitis) occurs at a rate of 0.5-10 cases per 100 000 population
and hundreds of cases per 100 000 population occur in epidemic
situations <http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5407a1.htm>.
No patient with meningococcal disease, other than the Dominican
preacher, has apparently been reported among Haitians or Dominicans.
Photographs of lesions that accompany meningococcemia can be found at
<http://www.vaccineinformation.org/photos/meni_mt002.jpg>.
Close contacts of patients with invasive meningococcal disease who are
themselves at increased risk of acquiring the disease are household
members, day care center contacts, and persons directly exposed to the
patient's oral secretions (e.g., through mouth-to-mouth resuscitation
or kissing). Chemoprophylaxis is given to these close contacts because
their attack rate for secondary meningococcal disease is 500-800 times
greater than among the general population
<http://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/rr5407a1.htm>.
Rifampin, ciprofloxacin and ceftriaxone are 90-95 percent effective in
reducing nasopharyngeal carriage of _N. meningitdis_ and are all
acceptable antimicrobial agents for chemoprophylaxis. Administering
chemoprophylaxis to persons who are not close contacts of patients
usually is not recommended. Neither oropharyngeal nor nasopharyngeal
cultures for _N. meningitidis_ are useful in deciding who should
receive chemoprophylaxis.
Haiti suffered an earthquake on 12 Jan 2010 with a magnitude of 7.0.
Multiple aftershocks, with magnitudes as high as 6.0, followed. The
earthquake centered about 10 miles (15 kilometers) southwest of
Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital. Approximately 3.5 million people live
in the earthquake-affected areas. Much of the capital area,
particularly critical infrastructure that includes basic utilities
(power, water, sanitation), transportation, communication and health
care facilities, has been destroyed, with heavy loss of staff. This
has severely compromised the ability to respond to this crisis. Prime
Minister Jean-Max Bellerive stated on 3 Feb 2010 that 200 000 people
have died and 300 000 have been injured
<http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/wor...iti-earthquake-death-toll-reaches-200000.html>.
WHO has issued a public health risk assessment to facilitate the
response of those aiding the earthquake-affected population in Haiti
<http://www.who.int/diseasecontrol_emergencies/publications/haiti_earthquake_20100118.pdf>.
Haiti and the Dominican Republic occupy the Caribbean island of
Hispaniola in the Greater Antillean archipelago. A
HealthMap/ProMED-mail interactive map of Hispaniola can be found at
<http://healthmap.org/promed/en?name=Dominican Republic, Dominican Republic&g=3508796&v=19,-70.667,6>. -
Mod.ML]
http://www.promedmail.org/pls/otn/f..._BACK_PAGE,F2400_P1001_PUB_MAIL_ID:1000,81224