Monday, November 8, 2010

Haiti tests for cholera in Port-au-Prince

At least 120 people in the Haitian capital, Port-au-Prince, are tested for cholera, health officials say.
Doctors have told the BBC that the illness is "clinically" in the city, but no official confirmation.
The Health Ministry said 544 people died in a cholera outbreak last Haiti. About 8,000 are hospitalized.
It is the fear of cholera will reach the capital since the start of the congested north in October.
The waterborne disease has already spread to half of the 10 regions of Haiti, and the number of deaths rose by more than 100 in less than a week.
The authorities fear the disease may worsen after Tomas typhoon brought heavy rains last week caused landslides and flooding.
The storm left 20 dead, 36 wounded and 11 missing, officials said.
Aid agencies say the main concern is that flooding could cause the spread of cholera, people without access to basic sanitation and are forced to drink contaminated water.
Slum
The Artibonite River north of Port-au-Prince, which was flooded at the weekend, is believed to be the source of the outbreak.People who live along the river have been asked to evacuate.
The storm without damage to the tent camps in and around Port-au-Prince, where adopted some 1.3 million survivors of the earthquake of January.
Aid workers say people in tent villages have access to clean water and sanitation have improved as residents of some long-standing slums of the capital, the BBC's Laura Trevelyan said in Port-au-Prince.
The health authorities investigated at least 120 suspected cases of cholera in the city on Monday, 114 of them in the slums of Cité Soleil.
Many patients, however, had to Port-au-Prince, Haiti from other parties, including the Artibonite Valley, Timothy Gabriel, the Director General of the Ministry of Health, quoted by AP news coming.
When cases are confirmed, the outbreak could threaten the 2, 5 to 3,000,000 people in Port-au-Prince.
Cholera causes vomiting and diarrhea to severe dehydration. It can kill quickly, but is easily treated with rehydration and antibiotics.

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