10/24/2010

Cholera Spreading Through Vulnerable Haiti

Health officials warn that an outbreak of cholera spreading through rural Haiti is worsening.

The disease has already killed about 200 people, and has sickened at least 2,000.

The outbreak has been centered mostly in the rural Artibonite region of the country, and many believe a contaminated river is the source.

Officials fear it will soon reach the capital, Port-au-Prince. Once there, it will easily spread through the unsanitary camps housing hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by an earthquake in January.

Reporters visiting medical centers and the main hospital in the town of St. Marc say patients are lining the floors and courtyard.

The United Nations says humanitarian agencies, rushing to contain the outbreak, are distributing 10,000 boxes of water purification tablets and hygiene kits in affected areas.

Cholera is a bacterial infection that is typically spread by contaminated water or food. Symptoms include fever, severe diarrhea, and vomiting. The disease is treatable, but without attention, it can kill within hours.

International health experts say this is the first cholera outbreak to hit Haiti in decades.









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