MercoPress. South Atlantic News Agency

First cholera case in twelve years diagnosed in Chile

The cholera was attributed to an accumulation of garbage at a public dump

The Chilean Antofagasta regional hospital diagnosed an 18-month old infant girl with cholera on Monday. Dr. Antonio Cárdenas, Chief of Paediatrics, told a local paper in Antofagasta that the infant had a virus called Vibrio Cholera.

Before the discovery, the child’s blood samples were sent to Chile’s Public Health Institute (ISP) in Santiago to find out whether or not is was an epidemic strain of cholera.

The diagnosis is the first of its kind in 12 years. The last time someone was diagnosed with the epidemic virus was in 1998.

The cholera was attributed to an accumulation of garbage at a public dump, causing the city to terminate the contract of the company collecting the rubbish.

Undersecretary of Public Health Liliana Jadue said there is no risk of an epidemic in the region and there is no reason to call it a sanitary emergency.

Still, Antofagasta has been affected by a diarrhoea epidemic, called the Norovirus, affecting around 13,000 people.

The undersecretary said “the epidemic is not directly associated to the trash but to contaminated water and vegetables and fruits watered with it.”

By Loretta van der Horst – Santiago Times