Deadly cholera outbreak strikes in Haiti

Oct 22nd, 2010 5:48 PM UTC
By Brooke Riley

Health officials in Haiti are reporting a severe outbreak of cholera that has killed at least 138 people during the last 48 hours and is the nation’s worst medical emergency since the earthquake in January. Another 1,526 cases have been documented in the Lower Artibonite region north of the capital, Port-au-Prince.

Cholera is a severe and deadly disease that rapidly travels throughout a community when people drink water or eat food contaminated with the bacteria. Cholera causes severe diarrhea and vomiting which can lead to dehydration, shock and consequently death in only a matter of hours. In an outbreak such as this, the main source of contamination is from the feces of an infected person which can spread quickly throughout areas with poor sewage treatment and a lack of clean drinking water. Although the cholera outbreak is not directly linked to the devastation caused by the earthquake in January, it is another reminder of the daily struggle many Haitians face living in one of the poorest and least developed nations in the world.

Cholera has not occurred in Haiti in over 100 years and this recent epidemic raises serious alarm bells in a place where the population and infrastructure is weakened and the health system overburdened. Officials worry that the disease could spread to the camps set up for the earthquake survivors where crowded conditions and lack of adequate sanitation make the camps extremely vulnerable to an outbreak. Humanitarian groups are rushing aid supplies to the outbreak region and in the coming days officials will be continuously monitoring this fast-moving outbreak.

TAGS: Earthquake in Haiti, Haiti, Water and Sanitation