Epidemiologic features of cholera epidemic in al-Hilla City-Babylon province-Iraq 2015

Abstract EN

Background: Cholera is a diarrheal disease, if untreated, leads to high morbidity and mortality.

It has economic and social impact, several epidemics occurred in Iraq during the last years.

Objective: To describe the cholera epidemic in a person place,and time epidemiologic model Methodology: This is a descriptive cross sectional study (describe the occurrence of disease in person , place ,and time descriptive epidemiologic approach) .

Data were collected using records of patients admitted to merjan and pediatric teaching hospitals in Hilla city who were diagnosed and confirmed by stool culture(according to the central public health laboratory results) during the period of the last epidemic (from the first of August through November 2015).

The duration of this study started from the beginning of February to the end of May 2016.

A sample of150 confirmed cholera cases were selected in a systematic random sample technique ,the missed data of these cases were completed by phone after getting the verbal consents of patients or their families .

Results: This study revealed that the peak frequency incidental cholera cases was on September, and most of cholera cases occured in Al-Tajea district.

The most affected age group was (5-20), no significant difference was reported according to gender.

p>0.05 most of the cases were illiterate , lived in overcrowded houses , The disease is more common in internally displaced persons and those who drink water from wells and rivers.

Conclusion : Cholera cases were at highest incidental rate in September and in Al-Tajea district, the most affected age group was(5-20years) , the disease was more common among Illiterate people, living in overcrowded houses .

Internally displace and those who use river and well water .