Infectious disease surveillance update

Cholera in Mexico On Nov 25, the Ministry of Health in Mexico reported an additional four cases of cholera infection, bringing the total number of confi rmed cases in the country to 184. The current outbreak began in September, and is the fi rst local transmission of cholera recorded in Mexico since 2001. Local health authorities are working to ensure access to drinking water and basic sanitation at the community level. Awareness campaigns focusing on safe water and food consumption are being carried out in Spanish and indigenous languages. The genetic profi le of the bacteria obtained from patients in Mexico presents high similarity (95%) with the strain that is currently circulating in three Caribbean countries (Haiti, Dominican Republic, and Cuba), and is diff erent from the strain that had been circulating in Mexico during the previous outbreak. MERS-CoV in UAE On Dec 2, WHO confi rmed an additional three laboratory-confi rmed cases of Middle East respiratory syndrome coronavirus (MERS-CoV) in the United Arab Emirates. All three cases belong to a family in Abu Dhabi, and both the mother and father are in a critical condition in hospital. Their son is being kept in hospital isolation. WHO has reported a total of 163 laboratory-confi rmed cases of infection with MERS-CoV, including 70 deaths.