Diarrheal epidemics among Rwandan refugees in 1994: Management and outcome in a field hospital

S. N. Heyman*, Y. Ginosar, M. Shapiro, Y. Kluger, N. Marx, S. Maayan

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

12 Scopus citations

Abstract

We describe the clinical course and outcome of Rwandan refugees with cholera-like illness (n = 567) and clinical dysentery (n = 1,062) treated at the Israeli Army field hospital in the disaster region of Goma, Zaire, during the summer of 1994. Vigorous fluid administration was the primary therapy, complemented with antibiotics for patients with presumed Shigella infection. Recovery rates were 94% and 96% for patients with cholera and dysentery, respectively. Mortality was substantially affected by comorbid conditions such as pneumonia and meningitis, which occurred in one-quarter of these patients. Infective, metabolic, and surgical complications (including three cases of intussusception) may have contributed to the deaths. The outcome of patients during diarrheal epidemics of cholera or bacillary dysentery may be favorable, even in disaster settings, if patients are evacuated promptly to medical facilities and appropriate therapy is instituted. We close with general observations on procedures to be followed in future epidemics of diarrheal diseases.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)595-601
Number of pages7
JournalJournal of Clinical Gastroenterology
Volume25
Issue number4
DOIs
StatePublished - Dec 1997
Externally publishedYes

Keywords

  • Cholera
  • Complications
  • Diarrhea
  • Disaster
  • Dysentery
  • Epidemic
  • Intussusception
  • Rwanda
  • Shigella
  • Trea tment

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