Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

A Cholera outbreak that has been called the largest health crisis since the earthquake last January, has already claimed the lives of nearly 200 Haitians. Authorities say that nearly 2,000 people are sick. The first two Cholera cases were found in Arcahaie, a town which is a right outside of Port-au-Prince (the capital city) which received thousands of refugees after the earthquake last year. Health officials are worried that the disease will spread into the quake-devastated capital where thousands of people are living in unsanitary conditions if refugee camps. Aid groups and the government has been passing out relief supplies including 10,000 boxes of water purification. "It (cholera) is concentrated in Artibonite and we are trying to keep it that way." Cholera was not present in Haiti before the earthquake, but experts had warned that disease was likely to occur in the regions where it is difficult to get clean water. The number of cholera cases are expected to grow because the Haitian people do not have any immunity to the disease. "We have all the things in place for something we know will get bigger," said Jon Andrus the deputy directer of Pan American Health Organization's Regional Office for the Americas.

http://www.boston.com/news/world/latinamerica/articles/2010/10/23/cholera_outbreak_spreads_toward_haitis_capital/

Submitted By: Erin Burneson