Cholera in Piura, Peru: a modern urban epidemic

J Infect Dis. 1992 Dec;166(6):1429-33. doi: 10.1093/infdis/166.6.1429.

Abstract

In late January 1991, epidemic cholera appeared in Peru. Within 2 months, 7922 cases and 17 deaths occurred in Piura, a Peruvian city of 361,868. A hospital-based culture survey showed that 79%-86% of diarrhea cases were cholera. High vibriocidal antibody titers were detected in 34% of the asymptomatic population. A study of 50 case-patients and 100 matched controls demonstrated that cholera was associated with drinking unboiled water (odds ratio [OR], 3.9; 95% confidence interval [CI], 1.7-8.9), drinking beverages from street vendors (OR, 14.6; CI, 4.2-51.2), and eating food from street vendors (OR, 24.0; CI, 3.0-191). In a second study, patients were more likely than controls to consume beverages with ice (OR, 4.0; CI, 1.1-18.3). Ice was produced from municipal water. Municipal water samples revealed no or insufficient chlorination, and fecal coliform bacteria were detected in samples from 6 of 10 wells tested. With epidemic cholera spreading throughout Latin America, these findings emphasize the importance of safe municipal drinking water.

Publication types

  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Adolescent
  • Adult
  • Age Factors
  • Aged
  • Aged, 80 and over
  • Antibodies, Bacterial / blood
  • Case-Control Studies
  • Child
  • Child, Preschool
  • Cholera / epidemiology*
  • Cholera / transmission
  • Disease Outbreaks*
  • Drinking
  • Feces / microbiology
  • Female
  • Food Microbiology
  • Humans
  • Ice
  • Infant
  • Infant, Newborn
  • Male
  • Middle Aged
  • Peru / epidemiology
  • Urban Population
  • Vibrio cholerae / classification
  • Vibrio cholerae / immunology
  • Vibrio cholerae / isolation & purification
  • Water Microbiology
  • Water Supply

Substances

  • Antibodies, Bacterial
  • Ice