Compelling new scientific evidence suggests United Nations peacekeepers have carried a virulent strain of cholera -- a super bug -- into the Western Hemisphere for the first time.

The vicious form of cholera has already killed 7,000 people inHaiti, where it surfaced in a remote village in October 2010. Leading researchers from Harvard Medical School and elsewhere told ABC News that, despite UN denials, there is now a mountain of evidence suggesting the strain originated in Nepal, and was carried to Haiti by Nepalese soldiers who came to Haiti to serve as UN peacekeepers after the earthquake that ravaged the country on Jan. 12, 2010 -- two years ago today. Haiti had never seen a case of cholera until the arrival of the peacekeepers, who allegedly failed to maintain sanitary conditions at their base.

http://news.yahoo.com/scientists-un-soldiers-brought-deadly-superbug-americas-194141189--abc-news.html

Unless they intentionally carried the disease to cause illness, I would not hold them 'responsible'.

Its true to say this is unfortunate. Not much comfort to Haitians I would imagine.

What is next for this impoverished nation?

What is next for this impoverished nation?

A propped-up dictator underwritten by their good friends to the north?

History repeats itself throughout their sphear of influence.

Haiti ws a reasonably successful economy under the French until Toussaint l'Ouverture and his pals turned it into the first negro (ex-slave) economy. That was 200 years ago, and since then it has staggered from crisis to crisis. This wretched country can no more be blamed for a cholera epidemic than it can be blamed for the earthquake. But then, if you were to look for a country with no future except continuing crises, you need look no further than Haiti.

What is next for this impoverished nation?

A propped-up dictator underwritten by their good friends to the north?

History repeats itself throughout their sphear of influence.

France is to the East.

Unless they intentionally carried the disease to cause illness, I would not hold them 'responsible'.

Intent doesn't matter, does it? If someone gets drunk, drives a car and kills someone else - does that mean they aren't responsible because they didn't intend to?

Unless they intentionally carried the disease to cause illness, I would not hold them 'responsible'.

Intent doesn't matter, does it? If someone gets drunk, drives a car and kills someone else - does that mean they aren't responsible because they didn't intend to?

Big difference. If someone drinks and drives, he knows that he is potentially causing havoc.

These soldiers were just trying to help and weren't aware that they were carrying a disease. In fact, nobody was, otherwise they would have been decontaminated.

Don't get me wrong, I'm not saying that the UN soldiers should be put on trial. I don't put any "blame" on them. However, they are still the reason this cholera strain is there which means they are responsible. Anyway, I don't want this to denigrate into one of those threads where people start posting definitions (thanks Scott! )

Haiti just can't ever to seem to catch a break. Now, on the other side of Hispaniola in the Dominican Republic things appear to be going much better. A friend of mine just came back from spending a week there for New Years and can't say enough good things about the place.