Haiti cholera death toll nears 200

[Guest guest]

http://english.aljazeera.net/news/americas/2010/10/201010238172616899.html

Haiti cholera death toll nears 200

Outbreak threatens capital Port-au-Prince amid suspicion that actual number of

deaths could surpass official figure.

Last Modified: 23 Oct 2010 18:00 GMT

The United Nations says that 194 Haitians have died in an outbreak of cholera

that is threatening to spread to the capital, Port-au-Prince, endangering

hundreds of thousands of earthquake survivors sheltered in camps there.

The announcement on Saturday came as the disease began to spread outside the

worst-affected rural Artibonite region, triggering fears that the toll could be

significantly higher.

Officials in Haiti have admitted that they have not been able to visit all the

areas, suggesting that many cases may not have been reported.

The UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said that 2,364

people had also been sickened in the outbreak.

An Al Jazeera correspondent, who visited the the National Hospital in the

capital on Saturday, saw two patients being treated for suspected cholera. They

were treated alongside other patients before being isolated.

The first two cholera cases outside the Artibonite region were confirmed in

Arcahaie, a town closer to the capital. Experts were also investigating possible

cases in Croix-des-Bouquet, a suburb of the capital, and radio reports said

there were two dozen cases of diarrhoea, which can be a symptom of cholera, on

Gonave island.

Aid groups and the government were rushing medical teams, medicine, clean water

and water purification to the affected areas. The health ministry also declared

a state of emergency in Artibonite.

'Very dangerous'

If the disease spreads into camps where those left homeless by the January 12

earthquake are sheltering, a public health crisis could be imminent. Sanitation

in the camps is poor and the displaced have little access to clean water.

" It will be very, very dangerous,'' Claude Surena, president of the Haitian

Medical Association, said. " Port-au-Prince already has more than 2.4 million

people, and the way they are living is dangerous enough already. Clearly a lot

more needs to be done.''

This is the first time cholera has struck Haiti since 1960, according to the UN.

More than 250,000 people were killed in the earthquake and another 1.2 million

left homeless.

The Lower Artibonite region, where the outbreak is centred so far, was not

significantly damaged in the quake, but it is housing thousands of refugees from

the capital, 70km south of Saint Marc.

Medical facilities in the port city of Saint Marc are overcrowded with patients

suffering from dehydration and diarrhoea.

'Completely dehydrated'

Jille Sanatus, a 55-year-old, was brought in by his son, Jordany. A doctor was

struggling to stick a needle into his arm to place a drip.

" He's completely dehydrated, so it's difficult. It's hard to find the vein,''

Doctor Roasana Casimir said.

Casimir finally penetrated the vein and fluid began to trickle in, but half an

hour later Sanatus was dead.

Two hospital employees carried the body to the morgue behind the hospital and

placed it on the ground for the family to reclaim for a funeral.

Sanatus' son said the family had been drinking water from a river that the

health minister has said tested positive for cholera.

Officials urged residents to take preventative action.

" One of the simplest things they can do is frequent handwashing. Personal

hygiene. That does wonders, " Doctor Jon Andrus, the deputy director of the Pan

American Health Organisation, said.

" Chlorine is being provided so to take advantage of those measures that will

ensure that anything ingested whether it be water or food is properly prepared

and that the source of the water is safe and adequately treated. "

Andrus said the number of cases will continue to grow because Haitians do not

have any built-up immunity to cholera.

" As we know from our experience, with situations of cholera where there is no

infrastructure to deal with the crisis, it just gets much worse. We have to

expect that and react to it. "

Unclean water

Cholera is transmitted by water but also by food that has been in contact with

unclean water contaminated by cholera bacteria. The disease is easily treatable

by rehydration and antibiotics but can kill within hours if not treated.

With a health system already in crisis, the outbreak is posing a serious threat

to Haiti.

Haiti is the poorest country in the western hemisphere. Only about $95 per

person is spent on health care each year, and the country is heavily dependent

on international relief organisations to provide medical aid.

The earthquake, which destroyed much of the country's infrastructure, dealt

another blow to an already battered system.

The disaster destroyed 60 per cent of the existing health facilities in the

worst affected areas and 10 per cent of medical staff were either killed or left

the country, according to Medecins Sans Frontieres.

About one million Haitians, or about 10 per cent of the population, are living

with little or no sanitation.

[Guest guest]

Like I said: cholera can spread quickly. That number will probably increase sharply.

In a message dated 10/23/2010 2:41:38 P.M. Eastern Daylight Time, no_reply writes:

Haiti cholera death toll nears 200