Roanoke Times
Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: FRIDAY, February 15, 1991 TAG: 9102150022
SECTION: NATIONAL/INTERNATIONAL PAGE: A-2 EDITION: METRO
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LIMA, PERU LENGTH: Medium
Fear of the highly contagious disease has also prompted dramatic actions by countries in Latin America and Europe to try to prevent its spread.
At least 86 people have died in Peru of cholera since the end of January and more than 12,600 cases have been reported, Peruvian health officials said. But the actual number of victims is expected to be higher because the figures do not include cases reported in the remote highland and jungle regions.
Officials of the Geneva-based World Health Organization warned earlier this week that cholera could spread quickly throughout Latin America if not controlled.
"There is panic abroad," Health Ministry spokesman Raul Fernandez said. "In the 24 hours it takes the symptoms to develop, a carrier could board a plane to Miami and spread the disease there."
The epidemic is the first cholera outbreak in the Western Hemisphere since early this century. It is transmitted mainly by food and water contaminated by the feces of cholera victims, and its symptoms include diarrhea, vomiting, severe cramps and dehydration.
The rapid spread of the disease has led Bolivia, Ecuador and Chile to increase health precautions at border crossings and to ban imports of Peruvian perishable foods. But officials from Chile and Ecuador refused to confirm news reports that cholera had spread to frontier towns in their countries.
Argentina, which does not share a border with Peru, has banned Peruvian fish imports and suspended upcoming soccer matches between the two countries' teams in Peru.
In Europe, Peruvian air passengers were sent back from Spain, and the French government banned Peruvian seafood imports, according to news reports. A spokesman for the Spanish Embassy said the travelers were turned back because they had not complied with visa requirements.
In Lima, the government has closed beaches and unhygienic street food stalls. But sewage pipes still discharge into the sea.
by CNB