Haitian fear widespread epidemic as cholera outbreak death toll in Haiti surpasses 250

[News_Editor]

Haitian fear widespread epidemic as cholera outbreak death toll in Haiti surpasses 250

2010-10-25 21:31:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (BNO NEWS) -- At least 250 people have died in Haiti and around 3,000 others are sick after having been infected with cholera as aid workers are struggling to contain what appears to be a widespread epidemic, local media reported on Monday.

Most of the victims are from the rural areas of the Bas Artibonite region and in Saint Marc, located north of the Haitian capital Port-Au-Prince. Five cases were discovered in Port-au-Prince this weekend, which has caused concern that the disease could be spreading.

The cases discovered in the capital were people who had traveled from the infected central region to the city, hoping to enter one of the country's highly stretched hospitals. Officials believe the disease has not spread in the capital, but fears continue that the disease will spread sooner or later.

The cholera epidemic is the first major health crisis for Haiti since January's devastating earthquake, which killed more than 220,000 in Haiti's central region, leaving around 1.5 million people homeless. Many months later, more than 1 million people still live in crowded and poorly-conditioned camps.

On Friday, the United Nations reported that approximately 1,500 cases of cholera had been detected and that 138 of those had since died, but the fast-rising number of victims have humanitarian agencies worried. Hundreds of thousands of antibiotic doses are being distributed in the in country.

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