Haiti cholera death toll reaches 544
Baku, November 8 (AZERTAC). The death toll from an outbreak of cholera in Haiti has reached 544, the health ministry says, according to BBC News.
Around 8,000 cholera patients are also in hospitals, with growing concerns that the disease will spread to the capital Port-au-Prince.
Authorities fear that the outbreak could worsen after Hurricane Tomas brought heavy rains last week. The death toll from the storm has reached 20, with 36 injured and 11 missing, officials said.
Local authorities and relief agencies have been attempting to get clean drinking water to those areas worse affected by the storm, which triggered flooding and mudslides. There was flooding in Leogane, Les Cayes, Jacmel and Gonaives, while many mountain towns have been cut off by flooded roads and landslides.
Susan Barry, from the aid organisation Christian Aid, says people in the Leogane area are using brooms and shovels to remove the worst of the thick mud. However, Ms Barry says the main concern is that the flooding could result in the outbreak of cholera, with people forced to drink contaminated water and lacking access to basic sanitation.
The Artibonite River, believed to be a source of the outbreak of the epidemic last month, flooded over the weekend.
People living along the river were asked to evacuate.
The hurricane at the end of last week passed without destroying the tented camps in and around Port-au-Prince, which house about 1.3 million survivors of January`s earthquake.
Other news in this section
