Possible Case of Cholera at Tocumen Airport
Ministry of Health officials detected a Chilean aid-worker with what appeared to be symptoms of cholera as she transited through Tocumen International Airport from Haiti on her way to Venezuela on Wednesday.
Epidemiology staff transported her to the Infectious Disease Ward of the Santo Tomas Hospital where she is being evaluated by doctors from the Gorgas Institute.
Last Tuesday, the Ministry reinforced health measures at airport, ports and borders in response to the cholera epidemic which has taken hundreds of lives in Haiti. As a precautionary measure, they urge people to wash their hands and food.
Cholera is an acute bacterial disease transmitted through food or water contaminated with human feces. Symptoms include vomiting, muscle cramps, sudden onset of watery diarrhea, weekness, increased heart rate, dehydration, coma and death.
The last registered case of cholera in Panama was in 1991.
UPDATE: False alarm. The Chilean missionary was released Thursday feeling better.
Possible Case of Cholera at Tocumen Airport…
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If, as you say, Cholera is transmitted through food or water contaminated with human feces, then it would be best to keep it out of Panama. If released, it could spread at an unprecedented speed.