- Doctors without Borders confirm
Doctors without Borders, an international medical outreach group, is reporting an increase in Cholera cases in Haiti over recent weeks. Oliver Schulz, head of the group’s Haiti mission, confirmed that more than 2,000 people with symptoms of the disease were in need of emergency hospitalization since mid-October. He said compared to the same period in 2013, the number of cases treated by Doctors without Borders has almost doubled.
In a statement, the medical group said Haiti’s health system “is still facing shortages of funding, human resources and drugs” and authorities are displaying a “lack of preparation for outbreaks that are known and foreseeable.” Cholera cases have a propensity to worsen during rainy months, triggered by a lack of sanitation and potable water in many areas. It is most often spread through the consumption of contaminated drinking water or food.
The cholera outbreak in Haiti began in October 2010, and scientific studies have shown it was likely brought to Haiti by U.N. peacekeepers from Nepal, where the disease is currently in an endemic stage. Cholera has killed more than 8,500 people since the outbreak started.
Extracted and modified from Caribbean 360
