Cholera outbreak in Baghdad in 2007: an epidemiological study

In 2007 there was an epidemic of cholera in Iraq with 4667 cases. The first case in Baghdad was diagnosed on 19 September 2007 and the last case on 13 December 2007. In all, 136 cases were reported (2.9% of the country total) in 6 of the 13 districts of Baghdad. The median age of the cases was 11 years (range = 0.3-71 years). There were 3 deaths giving a case fatality rate of 2.2%. Bacteriological testing confirmed that the outbreak was caused by Vibrio cholerae O1, biotype El Tor, serotype Inaba. The strain was resistant to trimethoprim-sulfamethoxazole, but sensitive to tetracycline and chloramphenicol. Efforts are needed in Baghdad to establish safe drinking-water and proper sanitation as limited availabilty of tap-water and sewage contamination probably contributed to the spread of the disease.