These tools will no longer be maintained as of December 31, 2024. Archived website can be found here. PubMed4Hh GitHub repository can be found here. Contact NLM Customer Service if you have questions.


Pubmed for Handhelds

PUBMED FOR HANDHELDS

Search MEDLINE/PubMed

  • Title: Using epidemiologic tools to control an outbreak of diarrhoea in a textile factory, Bulawayo, Zimbabwe.
    Author: Tshimanga M, Peterson DE, Dlodlo RA.
    Journal: East Afr Med J; 1997 Nov; 74(11):719-22. PubMed ID: 9557445.
    Abstract:
    Dysentery is endemic in Zimbabwe. More than 260,000 cases and a case fatality of four per thousand were reported in 1993. In late July 1994, the Health Services Department in Bulawayo was informed of two cases of Shigella dysenteriae type I at a textile factory that employs 138 workers. Workers were interviewed at the factory regarding the date of the onset of illness, symptoms, food consumed, and treatment received. Factory water supply, cooking, and sanitary facilities were inspected. Stool and water samples were obtained for analysis. A case was defined as an employee presenting with diarrhoea with onset from July 24 to August 25, 1994. Of the 99 workers on day and evening shifts, 75 (75%) were interviewed. Thirty eight workers met the case definition (Attack Rate 51%). Common symptoms were abdominal cramps (71%), and blood in stools (37%); median duration of diarrhoea was 11 days (range 5 to 32 days). Thirty seven (64%) of 58 workers who drank borehole water were ill compared to one (6%) of the 17 who did not (RR = 10.8, 95% CI = 1.6-73). No food items consumed were significantly associated with the illness. Two different shigella species (2 sonnei and 2 boydii) were isolated from five (13%) of 38 stool specimens. Water samples from the two boreholes yielded numerous faecal coliforms. Neither borehole was registered as required by the municipal bylaws, which also forbid use of borehole water for drinking. The epidemiologic and laboratory evidence implicate contaminated borehole water as the most likely cause of this outbreak. Enforcement of municipal bylaws on drilling, registration and use of boreholes is essential to avoid further outbreaks of waterborne diseases. In response to reports of 2 cases of Shigella dysenteriae type I infection in late July 1994 at a textile factory employing 138 workers in Bulawayo, Zimbabwe's second largest city, public health workers interviewed workers at the factory regarding the date of the onset of illness, symptoms, food consumed, and treatment received. Factory water supply, cooking, and sanitary facilities were inspected and stool and water samples obtained for analysis. 75 of 99 workers on day and evening shifts were interviewed over the course of 2 days. 38 workers experienced the onset of diarrhea during July 24 to August 25, 1994, and were therefore classified as cases. 71% reported having abdominal cramps and 37% had bloody stools; the median duration of diarrhea was 11 days of range 5-32 days. 37 of the 58 workers who drank borehole water were ill compared to 1 of the 17 who did not. No food items consumed were significantly associated with the illness and shigella species 2 sonnei and 2 boydii were isolated from 5 of the 38 stool specimens. Water samples from the boreholes produced many faecal coliforms. Neither borehole was registered as required by municipal laws, which also forbid the use of borehole water for drinking. The epidemiologic and laboratory evidence suggest that contaminated borehole water probably caused the outbreak of disease.
    [Abstract] [Full Text] [Related] [New Search]