Fears remain in Haiti as cholera deaths taper off
The United Nations has raised fears of a nationwide cholera crisis across Haiti even as the outbreak slowed on Monday. The disease emerged last week on the quake-ravaged island and has left over 250 people dead.
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“A nationwide outbreak with tens of thousands of cases is a real possibility,” warned the United Nations in a statement on Monday. “We are particularly concerned about Port-au-Prince and those in the slum areas as well as in the camps, but we are also preparing for outbreaks in the rest of the country.”
The UN warnings dampened hopes that the disease was being contained after only a handful of new cases were reported on Monday as international aid swung into action.
Hundreds of thousands of refugees live in squalid conditions in makeshift camps built after a devastating earthquake which killed over 250,000 people in January. Many survivors live in tents, and have to cook and wash near pools of waste. These are ideal conditions for an outbreak of cholera, an infectious disease which passes through contaminated waters.
In the overflowing Champs de Mars camp in the capital Port-au-Prince, fears of cholera are palpable.
“We know what to do to protect ourselves, but children are left to their own devices,” 24-year-old Elvia told the AFP news agency. “They don’t wash themselves correctly and, look, the toilets are right in front of the tents where we live.”
Five cholera treatment centers are being set up in the Artibonite region with extra doctors and epidemic management experts sent to the region.
The Artibonite River, north of the capital, is thought to be the source of the epidemic.
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