Haiti's cholera epidemic could affect 779,000 people this year - study

[News_Editor]

Haiti's cholera epidemic could affect 779,000 people this year - study

2011-03-17 06:55:19 GMT+7 (ICT)

SAN FRANCISCO, CALIFORNIA (BNO NEWS) -- The cholera epidemic in Haiti could affect some 779,000 people this year, almost twice the United Nations' (UN) projections of 400,000, according to a new study conducted by the University of California, San Francisco (UCSF) and Harvard Medical School that was published Wednesday.

According to the study, the alarming projected number of 779,000 cholera cases in Haiti could occur between March and November alone, of which 11,100 could result in deaths. However, the UN's forecasts are vital in the distribution of resources.

UCSF medical resident Dr. Sanjay Basu conducted the study alongside Dr. Jason Andrews from Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School. Basu noted that the epidemic is not likely to be a short-term situation.

Furthermore, Basu and Andrews underlined the importance of public health interventions to fight the disease, namely: providing clean water, vaccinating some of the population and prescribing antibiotics more widely.

While the distribution of antibiotics requires a significant budget, it could save thousands of lives, the study said.

In the three months between October and December of last year, about 150,000 people in Haiti contracted cholera, and about 3,500 died. In October of last year, the UN first projected that some 200,000 people would eventually become infected; two weeks later, they doubled this projection to 400,000.

However, Basu noted that the UN's projection did not include existing disease trends or take into account major factors such as where water was contaminated, how the disease is transmitted or human immunity to cholera.

Nonetheless, Basu and Andrews believe that by reducing the number of people who are forced to drink contaminated water by just 1 percent, over 100,000 cases could be prevented, as well as 1,500 deaths. In addition, vaccinating 10 percent of Haiti's population of 10 million, would save around 900 lives, and by extending the use of antibiotics, 9,000 cases and around 1,300 deaths could be prevented.

-- © BNO News All rights reserved 2011-03-17