Any information on outbreaks around world? Could infrastructure breakdowns be contibuting to already big problems in places like Somalia.

News 24 South Africa reports: Cholera kills 17 people in Somalia

Mogadishu - At least 17 people have died of cholera in the Somali capital since the weekend and many more lives are threatened, a doctor based in Mogadishu told AFP on Tuesday.

Appealing to Somali businessmen to contribute to efforts to combat the epidemic, Gandhi attributed the cause of periodic outbreaks of cholera in Mogadishu to poor sanitation, lack of clean water and ignorance. "Please boil your water and food, also clean your neighbourhoods," Gandhi appealed to the city's residents. Cholera has also killed many people in central, northeastern and southern Somalia regions since the disease emerged there in December, several medical sources told AFP. - Sapa-AFP Link to story:

http://news.24.com/English/Africa/Northern_Africa/ENG_218877_927070_SEO.asp

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 11, 2000

Answers

Key statement: "Gandhi attributed the cause of periodic outbreaks of cholera in Mogadishu to poor sanitation, lack of clean water and ignorance."

Key words: "periodic outbreaks"

Not a y2k problem....ALWAYS a problem.

-- Anita Evangelista (ale@townsqr.com), January 11, 2000.

The first requirement for an infrastructure breakdown is to have an infrastructure. I'm not sure Somalia qualifies. Start panicking when the cholera outbreaks are located in the first world.

-- Chris Tisone (c_tisone@hotmail.com), January 11, 2000.

How about this? AIDS In Africa

-- Three Dots (Three Dots@work.now), January 11, 2000.

Man I went to Somalia for our "televised humanitarian effort" and conditions today no matter how diseased they may sound are nothing compared to then.

someone eles sais it all you have to have infastructure for it to collaspe.

-- seen (it with@myown.eyes), January 11, 2000.

Not a bad idea in the US to boil or filter our water as an extra measure, what with the flu bug potentially hampering our immunity.

-- Hokie (Hokie_@hotmail.com), January 11, 2000.

I have been taking flak for some of my posts. I agree that this story and some others may be a stretch. However, here's my rationale for posting it and some others for which I am being criticized.

If you want to build a database from which you can draw any accurate conclusions, it is necessary to include and analyze all stories reported. For example, consider the recent severe outbreak of Cholera in Africa and the cases in India that have occurred shortly before, during and after rollover. I am well aware of the fact that developing countries have problems with sanitation and disease. However, prior to the rollover, developing countries were the places that were regarded as most likely to suffer y2k related infrastructure failures. If, they are taking place in countries like India and Somolia, you would expect an increase in the incidence and severity of cases. So, having information concerning where serious occurances are taking place is absolutely vital to perform any kind of real time analysis.

-- Carl Jenkins (Somewherepress@aol.com), January 11, 2000.

Carl,

But where does it end? I fully expect to see you, two weeks from now, posting all the obituary pages for every on-line newspaper in the US with headers "could these deaths be related to Y2K infrastructure and medical problems?"

And I'll be pointing out that people died in 1997, 1996, 1995, 1994, etc. etc. etc.

-- John H Krempasky (johnk@dmv.com), January 11, 2000.

They're rioting in Africa and starving in Spain

-- (TomLehrer@MIT.edu), January 11, 2000.

there's hurricanes in florida......

and texas needs rain....

-- mebs (andrea@mebs.lurking), January 12, 2000.

Carl, keep posting the information. At this point, we don't know what is important, but some trends may develop as time passes.

-- Dave (dannco@hotmail.com), January 12, 2000.