Cholera outbreak slows down as death toll hits 109 in Dominican Republic

[News_Editor]

Cholera outbreak slows down as death toll hits 109 in Dominican Republic

2011-08-20 11:29:43 GMT+7 (ICT)

SANTO DOMINGO (BNO NEWS) -- The spread of the cholera outbreak in the Caribbean country of the Dominican Republic has slowed down while the death toll has now reached 109, the government confirmed on Friday evening.

The ongoing cholera epidemic began in neighboring Haiti in October last year and soon spread to the Dominican Republic. Especially the capital city of Santo Domingo still faces a serious outbreak.

According to figures released by the country's Health Ministry on Friday evening, the death toll in the country as a result of the cholera outbreak has now reached 109 while the number of suspected cases has reached 15,876.

"We have noticed a lowering trend of the disease for a sixth consecutive week across the country," a spokesperson for the ministry said, adding that there were 542 suspected cases last week compared to 607 two weeks ago. "However, the National District and Santo Domingo Province remain the epicenter of the disease."

The ministry said it continues to take preventive measures such as education about the disease, the close monitoring of cases of diarrhea, and providing clean water. It said preparations for Tropical Storm Emily two weeks ago may have also helped slow down the disease.

The cholera outbreak has killed more than 5,400 people in Haiti alone and left more than 300,000 others ill. Haiti is still recovering from a devastating 7.0-magnitude earthquake which struck near Port-au-Prince on January 12, 2010, killing up to 316,000 people.

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