An outbreak of El Tor cholera associated with a tribal funeral in Irian Jaya, Indonesia.
An outbreak of El Tor biotype cholera occurring in a rural village in Irian Jaya, Indonesia was evaluated for risk factors associated with death from cholera. Among those dying in the village during the epidemic, a significant association between membership in one of the five tribal groups in the village complex was associated with an elevated risk of suffering a cholera death (odds ratio = 5.9). Interviews with members of the decedents' families revealed a very strong association (odds ratio = 11.6) between risk of cholera death and having attended the two day funeral of a woman who died of a cholera-like illness a few days prior to an outbreak of cholera-like diarrheal disease in the village complex. Recent flooding may have contributed to the creation of an environment conducive to cholera transmission.
Korthuis
P T
PT
US Naval Medical Research Unit No. 2, Jakarta, Indonesia.
Jones
T R
TR
Lesmana
M
M
Clark
S M
SM
Okoseray
M
M
Ingkokusumo
G
G
Wignall
F S
FS
D002771:Cholera / Q000453:epidemiology* / Q000209:etiology / Q000382:microbiology / Q000401:mortality; D004196:Disease Outbreaks; D019353:Endemic Diseases; D004812:Epidemiologic Methods; D005006:Ethnicity; D005260:Female; D005655:Funeral Rites; D006801:Humans; D007214:Indonesia / Q000453:epidemiology; D012307:Risk Factors; D012621:Seasons; D012703:Serotyping; D011795:Surveys and Questionnaires; D014734:Vibrio cholerae / Q000145:classification / Q000302:isolation & purification*