Diarrhoeal diseases surveillance in Trinidad and Tobago

ABSTRACT

Between July 28th and December 28th, 1991, 2,935 cases of diarrhoeal illness were reported to the National Surveillance Unit of the Ministry of Health, in response to the intensified surveillance activities of the Cholera Preparedness Programme. The cases notified included 1,656 children less than five years of age (56.4 percent) and 1,279 persons over age five. The average number of reported cases per week was 133 with a range of 62-202 cases. A review of certain laboratory indicators was recently undertaken in order to assess the ease with which cholera would spread locally if introduced into Trinidad and Tobago. This analysis is based on data produced by the Trinidad Public Health Laboratory (AU)