By IANS
Singapore : A new study that maps three impoverished regions of the world, including India, has found that Kolkata has the second-highest incidence of cholera.
The other two regions included in the study by South Korean researchers were Indonesia and Mozambique.
The study, which concluded that young children bear the brunt of cholera in these three regions, found Beira in Mozambique to have the highest incidence of cholera, followed by Kolkata and Jakarta.
Findings of the study, by Jacqueline L. Deen of the International Vaccine Institute, Seoul, and colleagues from the three countries, have been published in the latest issue of journal PloS.
The study conducted surveillance of the disease, based on treatment facilities, at the three sites.
It found that Jakarta reported the lowest cholera rate with 0.5 cases per 1,000 people per year.
Thrice as many cases were reported from Kolkata, while the number was eight times in Beria for the same period.
“Cholera is an often forgotten disease affecting the world’s forgotten people,” said Deen.
“When a large cholera outbreak occurs, the disease appears briefly on the radar of public attention. Some unfortunate populations around the world suffer recurrent episodes of cholera but their plight goes unnoticed,” she added.
The authors of the study argue that an “improvement of water supply and sanitation is the best strategy against cholera and other diarrhoeal diseases”.