- Title
- A large outbreak of shigellosis commencing in an internally displaced population, Papua New Guinea, 2013
- Creator
- Benny, Edwin; Mesere, Kelly; Pavlin, Boris; Yakam, Logan; Ford, Rebecca; Yoannes, Mition; Kisa, Debbie; Abdad, Mohammad; Menda, Lincoln; Greenhill, Andrew; Horwood, Paul
- Date
- 2014
- Type
- Text; Journal article
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/160546
- Identifier
- vital:12202
- Identifier
-
https://doi.org/10.5365/WPSAR.2014.5.2.003
- Identifier
- ISBN:2094-7313
- Abstract
- OBJECTIVE: The objective of this study was to investigate a large outbreak of shigellosis in Papua New Guinea that began in a camp for internally displaced persons before spreading throughout the general community. METHODS: Outbreak mitigation strategies were implemented in the affected area to curtail the spread of the disease. Data were collected from the surveillance system and analysed by time, place and person. Rectal swab samples were tested by standard culture methods and real-time polymerase chain reaction to determine the etiology of the outbreak. RESULTS: Laboratory analysis at two independent institutions established that the outbreak was caused by Shigella sp., with one strain further characterized as Shigella flexneri serotype 2. Approximately 1200 suspected cases of shigellosis were reported in a two-month period from two townships in Morobe Province, Papua New Guinea. The outbreak resulted in at least five deaths, all in young children. DISCUSSION: This outbreak of shigellosis highlights the threat of enteric diseases to vulnerable populations such as internally displaced persons in Papua New Guinea, as has been observed in other global settings.
- Publisher
- World Health Organisation
- Relation
- Western Pacific surveillance and response journal : WPSAR Vol. 5, no. 3 (2014), p. 18-21
- Rights
- https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/igo/legalcode
- Rights
- Copyright © 2014 The Authors; licensee the World Health Organization. This is an open access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution IGO License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited. In any reproduction of this article there should not be any suggestion that WHO or this article endorse any specific organization, products or services. The use of the WHO logo is not permitted. This notice should be preserved along with the article's original URL."
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- 0605 Microbiology; Dysentery, Bacillary; Epidemic; Microbiology; Papua New Guinea; Shigella flexneri; Real-Time Polymerase Chain Reaction; Refugees
- Full Text
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