Delhi has reported 450 cases of cholera this year; the civic authorities said on Monday and apprehended that the situation may worsen in the wake of the recent floods in Yamuna.
"Cholera has been a constant problem in the city. We have so far reported over 450 cases,' said V.K. Monga, head of the health committee of the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD).
"The recent Yamuna floods are a set back and we think the water contamination may increase and add to the cholera situation. Besides, it will be favourable for mosquito breeding,' Monga said.
Contaminants in the city's water supply are a major cause of several infectious diseases, including cholera, typhoid, hepatitis, polio, cryptosporidiosis, ascariasis, and schistosomiasis, Daily Times learnt from health experts on Sunday.
Corroded pipelines: The experts said that human excreta had polluted the water supply in the city during the recent rains. "Corroded pipelines add to the misery of the citizens, mixing sewage and causing water-borne diseases,' they added.
Vaccine from Vietnam found effective in a trial in Kolkata A new reformulated oral cholera vaccine (ocv), earlier tested and found effective in Vietnam, was found to be safe in a cholera endemic region in Kolkata.
If anybody needed a reminder of how crippling bureaucracy can be, consider the campaign to clean up the sacred Yamuna River in Delhi. The river oozes through town like a putrid ribbon of black sludge. Its level of fecal bacteria is 10,000 times higher than what's deemed safe for bathing.
An effective vaccine against cholera has been used for public health purposes in Vietnam since the 1990s. This vaccine was reformulated to meet WHO requirements. The researchers assessed the safety and immunogenicity of the reformulated bivalent (Vibrio cholerae 01 and 0139) killed whole cell oral vaccine in a cholera endemic area in Kolkata, India.
The BWSSB officials on Monday said there is no case of water contamination at Shamanna Garden from where 20 suspected gastro-entritis cases were shifted to Isolation Hospital. Assistant Executive Engineer K Narasanna said the samples of water were taken from the spot and tested in the presence of BBMP health inspector. "The samples showed sufficient chlorination and so it has been clearly proved there is no problem with the water quality,' he said.
The threat of a cholera outbreak loomed large over the City with 46 suspected cases of the disease being admitted at Isolation Hospital since Sunday. Seven cases which tested positive for cholera under the hanging drop method, at St Martha's Hospital (5) and St Philomena's Hospital (2), were referred to Isolation Hospital. According to BBMP, 35 cases of gastroenteritis (GE) were reported from various parts of the City over the past two days, the highest number of them from Shamanna Garden and surrounding areas in Jagajivanram Nagar.
The researchers studied the epidemiology of cholera in Katanga and Eastern Kasai, in the Democratic Republic of Congo, by compiling a database including all cases recorded from 2000 through 2005. Results show that lakes were the sources of outbreaks and demonstrate the inadequacy of the strategy used to combat cholera. May 2008
ANTHONY MCMICHAEL heads the International Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, and is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He talks to VIBHA VARSHNEY and MARIO D'SOUZA about the health risks from global environmental changes
What are the impacts of climate change on disease outbreaks?
Three cases of cholera registered in government-run hospitals in the Limbayat and Sachin area of the city, have sent shock-waves through the government machinery.
ANTHONY MCMICHAEL heads the International Centre for Epidemiology and Population Health at the Australian National University, and is a member of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. He talks to VIBHA VARSHNEY and MARIO D'SOUZA about the health risks from global environmental changes 
