Cholera death toll in Haiti passes 600
Baku, November 11 (AZERTAC). The death toll from cholera across Haiti has risen to 644, as aid workers fight to contain the spread of the disease in the capital, Port-au-Prince.
At least 10,000 people suffering from cholera are in hospitals across the country. Doctors in Port-au-Prince say they are alarmed at the speed at which new cases are emerging.
A senior health ministry official said the epidemic was now “a matter of national security”.
The ministry on Tuesday confirmed the disease had reached Port-au-Prince, which had feared an outbreak since October.
About 170 people are now being treated in hospitals in the city, according to the Pan-American Health Organization (Paho). One person has died.
Dan Epstein, a Paho spokesman, said the organization expected 270,000 Haitians to be infected by the disease in "between six months and a year”, according to modeling based on a past outbreak in Peru.
Paho has warned that there is a real risk of the epidemic crossing the border into the neighboring Dominican Republic.
The disease broke out in the Artibonite River valley in central Haiti in mid-October and initially seemed to have been contained, but cases have since soared.
Officials are warning that a sizeable outbreak in Port-au-Prince, where 1.3 million earthquake survivors live in tents, is now likely. The water-borne disease has already spread to half of Haiti`s 10 regions. Flooding caused by Hurricane Tomas is believed to have exacerbated conditions and helped spread the disease further, officials have said. The storm at the end of last week left 20 people dead, with 36 injured and 11 missing. Cholera itself causes diarrhea and vomiting, leading to severe dehydration. It can kill quickly but is treated easily through rehydration and antibiotics.
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