Tag Archives: News Updates

News Update: Cholera numbers

19 Dec Source: msnbc.com

Cholera in Haiti - news.nationalpost image

Death Toll: 2,535

Total Affected: 114,497

Hospitalized: 58,190

Recovered: 56,463

Location: Cholera has spread to all 10 provinces of Haiti, some cases have been reported in the Dominican Republic and Florida, USA

Artibonite has been most affected by the cholera outbreak, with 807

How it began:

It is believed that the epidemic began with an imported strain of the disease that could be traced back to UN peacekeepers from Nepal.

Source: msnbc.com

“The body of 7-year-old Kevin Francois, who according to his mother died of cholera in route to the hospital, lies in the street covered as a man, pulls the body of his father-in-law to the cemetery after he found him dead of cholera in the street near his home in Cap Haitian, Haiti, Friday, Nov. 19, 2010. Thousands of people have been hospitalized for cholera across Haiti with symptoms including serious diarrhea, vomiting and fever and at least 1,100 people have died.”

 

Articles:

Haiti Cholera toll passes 2,500

Haiti cholera investigation announced by United Nations

 

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News Update: Cholera in Haiti

13 Dec

Cholera Victims in Haiti (Photo Credit -- Getty via ABC News Radio)

Cases of Cholera have now been reported in every district of Haiti as well as in some areas of the Dominican Republic and Florida. The cholera outbreak in Haiti has infecting nearly 91,000 people claiming the lives of over 2,000, but will not be spread in DR or FL as both of these region s have better access to clean drinking water and medical facilities.

FIGURE 1. Reported number of new cases of cholera (N = 91,770), by hospitalization status --- Haiti, October 20--December 3, 2010* (Image Credit: CDC)

“Cholera is caused by a bacteria, Vibrio cholerae, which causes an infection of the intestine and produces a toxin that triggers watery diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death. The disease has largely been eliminated in countries that have access to clean drinking water, but can spread rapidly in areas where people drink tainted water. An infected human can produce the bacteria in his feces for up to two weeks, even if they don’t show signs of illness.”

FIGURE 2. Cumulative number of cases of cholera reported overall* and date of first laboratory-confirmed case, by department and in Port-au-Prince†--- National Cholera Monitoring System, Haiti, December 3, 2010 (Image Credit: CDC)

“The cholera epidemic has spread rapidly not only because of the poor health infrastructure and water sanitation in Haiti, but also because of some stark biological realities. Haiti hasn’t seen cholera in at least a century, leaving the population without immunity to the disease.”

“As of December 3, a total of 91,770 cases had been reported nationwide, and 43,243 (47.1%) patients had been hospitalized (Figure 1). The largest number of cases (42,596 [46.4%]) were reported from Artibonite Department, which comprises approximately 16% of the Haiti population (2) and is the department where cases were first laboratory-confirmed (Figure 2).”

FIGURE 3. Rolling 7-day hospital case-fatality ratio* for Artibonite and all other departments --- Haiti, October 31--December 3, 2010 (Image Credit: CDC)

Resources:

Cholera in Haiti has spread to every part of the country, CDC reports

Update: Outbreak of Cholera — Haiti, 2010

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Cholera is spreding in Haiti at an alarming rate

25 Nov OB-LA702_haiti1_G_20101124223829

WSJ Reports

Father holds son while being treated for cholera at a health facility on Wednesday in Cabaret, Haiti. (Photo Credit: WSJ)

“PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti—Cholera is now projected to spread more than twice as fast as originally estimated across this ravaged country, with more than 425,000 cases of the potentially fatal disease expected in the first six months since it appeared, a United Nations official said.

As many as 200,000 of those cases are expected before the end of the year, with a peak before Christmas, Nigel Fisher, U.N. humanitarian coordinator in Haiti, said in an interview.”

“When we were in the initial stages of planning, we had said there would be 200,000 cases over six months,” he said. “Today the figures are 425,000 over six months, of which 200,000 before year’s end, with a peak before Christmas.”

“The predictions reflect the explosive nature of the cholera epidemic, which erupted in rural Haiti in October but has since spread to each of the country’s 10 regions, as well as Port-au-Prince, where more than 1.3 million displaced earthquake survivors live in crowded camps.

Officially, the disease had sickened 66,593 people and killed 1,523 as of Monday, according to the Ministry of Health. But the real number of cases is likely much higher, health officials acknowledge, partly because the systems used to count the ill aren’t capturing every nonhospitalized case. Cholera is spread through contaminated water and food, and officials had predicted it would move around the country quickly because sanitation is poor and clean water is lacking.”

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Haiti: Cholera & Protest (Estimated: 1,000 Dead 15,000 hospitalized)

16 Nov

“Health officials reported that the disease has spread to the capital, Port-au-Prince, where they fear it could spread quickly in slums and in camps teeming with people left homeless by January’s devastating earthquake. Nearly 1,000 Haitians have already been killed by the disease.”

“How quickly is cholera spreading in Haiti?
Nearly 15,000 people have been hospitalized with cholera-like symptoms. Doctors fear the infection rate could rise quickly now that the outbreak has reached the crowded capital city of Port-au-Prince, where a million people who were left homeless by the January earthquake are living in poor sanitary conditions that could help the disease spread. “All of the hospitals in Port-au-Prince are overflowing with patients,” says Stefano Zannini, head of Doctors Without Borders in Haiti.”

“Why are protesters fighting with the U.N.?

Many of the demonstrators believe U.N. soldiers from Nepal brought the disease into the country.  The strain of cholera spreading through Haiti resembles one that originated in Asia, although it has been circulating around the globe for decades.

“Is there any way to stop the outbreak?” (Follow the link for more info)

“Since cholera is caused by bacteria spread in contaminated water or food, a simple bar of soap can provide some defense. In Haiti, where a cake of local soap costs 50 cents and the average person lives on less than $1.25 a day, many people can’t afford to buy it.”

(Text Credit: theWeek.com sourcing CNN, NY Times, Wash. Post, VOA, Guardian, NPR)

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Haiti: Cholera Has Reached Port-au-Prince

13 Nov

Resident of a camp fills bucket with clean water. (Spencer Platt/Getty Images)

800 reported deaths and an estimated 12,000 infected

On the side of the NGOs, Doctors Without Borders is stepping up its cholera response in Port-au-Prince. They have currently 400 beds for treatment of cholera cases, and are aiming at adding 600 beds by this week-end. Doctors Without Borders has currently 165 international staff members and more than 400 Haitian staff members working on cholera treatment in the island.

“We are trying to explain that cholera can kill, but at the same time it is a disease that you can treat quite easily. Cholera treatment centers where patients can be isolated are critical for effective treatment. The access points are controlled so that whomever enters or leaves is sprayed with chlorine to disinfect properly and prevent spread of infection,” said Stefano Zannini, Doctors Without Borders head of mission in Haiti. Zannini is getting increasingly concerned by the sheer numbers of people in need of treatment, and added: “Patients are coming from everywhere, thorough the city slums and even wealthy areas.”

via Haiti: Cholera Has Reached Port-au-Prince, Thousands Could Die.

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