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Haiti - Cholera: 1.415 deaths, 25.248 hospitalisations
UN, Haitian officials investigate possible disease outbreak in rural Haiti
By Jonathan M. Katz (CP) – 6 hours ago
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Health officials in rural Haiti are investigating a possible disease outbreak that could be responsible for dozens of deaths and a surge in hospital patients, UN aid workers said Wednesday.
Haitian government officials say at least 19 people have died after suffering brief bouts of fever, vomiting and severe diarrhea, with dozens of more deaths suspected. Most are reportedly children.
more at above link
Last edited by sharon sanders; October 21, 2010, 07:51 AM.
Reason: shortened
Diarrhea outbreak kills at least 54 in Haitian capital
JACOB KUSHNER
St. Marc, Haiti— Reuters
Published Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 2:32PM EDT
Last updated Thursday, Oct. 21, 2010 4:16PM EDT
6 comments Email Print Decrease text size
Increase text size An outbreak of severe diarrhea in rural central Haiti has killed at least 54 people and sickened hundreds more who overwhelmed a crowded hospital Thursday seeking treatment.
Hundreds of patients lay on blankets in a parking lot outside St. Nicholas hospital in the port city of St. Marc with IVs in their arms for rehydration. As rain began to fall in the afternoon, nurses rushed to carry them inside.
snip.
A total of 54 people died and 619 were ill, according to Yolaine Surena, a co-ordinator for Haiti's civil protection department.
Some patients said they drank water from a public canal, while others said they bought purified water. All complained of symptoms including fever, vomiting and severe diarrhea.
“I ran to the bathroom four times last night vomiting,” said 70-year-old Belismene Jean Baptiste.
more at above link...
Last edited by sharon sanders; October 21, 2010, 04:01 PM.
Reason: shortened
Cholera outbreak behind Haiti deaths: Health official
AFP October 21, 2010 4:00 PM
PORT-AU-PRINCE - An outbreak of cholera was to blame for dozens of deaths in Haiti in recent days, a health official said Thursday.
"The first results from the lab tests show that there is cholera, but we don't know which type," an official from the public health ministry told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.
"The government and the health authorities are meeting at the moment and an announcement will be made," he added.
Health officials said earlier that at least 50 people had died from acute diarrhea and hundreds were being treated in local hospitals as laboratory tests were carried out to determine the cause of the illness.
The outbreak of illness was outside the capital...
Haiti: Cholera has killed 135 people, at least 1,500 infected
French to English translation
By AFP, published on 21/10/2010 at 16:41, updated on 22/10/2010 at 00:17
PORT-AU-PRINCE
Haiti: Cholera has killed 135 people, at least 1,500 others infected
PORT-AU-PRINCE - A cholera epidemic has killed 135 in recent days in northern Haiti, while nearly 1,500 people affected by the disease's likely due to poor quality drinking water, said Thursday the country's Medical Association.
"There were 135 deaths (due to cholera) and 1498 cases of patients with diarrhea (...). According to laboratory analysis, it is indeed cholera," he told AFP Claude Surena president of the Haitian Medical Association.
Toute l'actualité et guides sur l'emploi et le management : articles, photos, dossiers, chroniques, portraits…... Suivez toute l'actualité avec l'Express
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 135 people, at least 1,500 infected
French to English translation (Google)
In a hospital in Haiti, cholera patients treated on the ground
Haiti: Some are treated on the floor, others wait patiently for hours in agony: a hospital in St. Marc, 96 km north of Port-au-Prince, trying somehow to meet Thursday the influx of patients caused by the cholera epidemic in Haiti.
They came by the hundreds at the Hopital Saint-Nicolas, north of the Haitian capital. Overwhelmed by the number, the staff is unable to provide a bed for everyone.
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 135 people, at least 1,500 infected
Haiti cholera hospital is a horror scene
excerpt
We arrived at St Marc hospital to a horror scene. I had to fight my way through the gate as a huge crowd of worried relatives stood outside, while others screamed for access as they carried dying relatives into the compound. The courtyard was lined with patients hooked up to intravenous (IV) drips. It had just rained and there were people lying on the ground on soggy sheets, half-soaked with feces.
Some children were screaming and writhing in agony, others were motionless with their eyes rolled back into their heads as doctors and nursing staff searched desperately for a vein to give them an IV. The hospital was overwhelmed, apparently caught out suddenly by one of the fastest killers there is.
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 135 people, at least 1,500 infected
Haiti president confirms 138 dead from cholera outbreak
Fri Oct 22, 2010
PORT-AU-PRINCE (Reuters) - Haiti's President Rene Preval said on Friday an outbreak of cholera had killed at least 138 people in the quake-hit country's central region and his government was taking measures to try to stop the disease spreading.
"I can confirm it is cholera," Preval told Reuters.
Cholera outbreak behind Haiti deaths: health official
----------------------------
An outbreak of cholera was to blame for dozens of
deaths in Haiti in recent days, a health official
said Thursday.
"The first results from the lab tests show that
there is cholera, but we don't know which type,"
an official from the public health ministry told
AFP, asking to remain anonymous.
"The government and the health authorities are
meeting at the moment and an announcement will be
made," he added.
Health officials said earlier that at least 50
people had died from acute diarrhea and hundreds
were being treated in local hospitals as
laboratory tests were carried out to determine
the cause of the illness.
The outbreak of illness was outside the capital,
which was ravaged by a devastating 7.0 earthquake
in January, leaving more than 250,000 people dead
and another 1.2 million homeless.
Cholera is transmitted by water but also by food
that has been in contact with unclean water
contaminated with by cholera bacteria.
It causes serious diarrhea and vomiting, leading
to dehydration. With a short incubation period,
it can be fatal if not treated in time.
The World Health Organization says on its website
that "cholera is an extremely virulent disease.
It affects both children and adults and can kill
within hours."
Aid agencies have voiced fears for months that
any outbreak of disease could spread rapidly in
Haiti due to the unsanitary conditions in the
makeshift camps housing the homeless, with little
access to clean water.
The impoverished Caribbean nation has also been
hit in recent days by severe flooding, adding to
the misery of those struggling to survive in the
scores of tent cities now dotting the country.
--
Communicated by:
ProMED-mail
<promed@promedmail.org>
Cholera blamed in deaths of more than 100 in Haiti
--------------------------
Haitian health officials are blaming the deaths
of more than 100 people suffering from acute
diarrhea and dehydration on an outbreak of
cholera.
"For sure it is that," said a Ministry of Health
official, who asked not to be identified because
the government had yet to make an official
announcement.
At least 1,000 people had been hospitalized in
the lower Artibonite region in recent days, with
the main hospital in St. Marc filled to capacity.
The conclusion of cholera was supported by
diplomats at one foreign embassy. A report
obtained by The Miami Herald stated that foreign
health experts working with the Haitian
government to identify the problem were "99
percent sure it is cholera" that caused severe
diarrhea and vomiting in St. Marc, Mirebalais,
Drouin and Marchand Dessalines. On Thursday,
Haitian health specialists along with the Centers
for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta
continued to investigate the source of the
outbreak while the government trucked in
thousands of gallons of water.
South Florida-based Food for the Poor also
announced that it was shipping in antibiotic,
oral dehydration salts, water filtration units
and other critically needed supplies to several
cities and rural villages near the outbreak. So
far, it had not reached Gonaives, the largest
city in the Artibonite region.
The U.S. Embassy warned U.S. citizens that they
should only drink bottled water, avoid
undercooked or raw seafood and ``seek medical
assistance if you develop acute, water
diarrhea,'' it said.
Cholera is a contagious bacterial disease that
affects the intestinal system. Symptoms include
severe vomiting, diarrhea and dehydration. It can
cause death within four to 12 hours after
symptoms begin if untreated. Spread through
consumption of infected food and water, or feces,
the disease is treated with fluids and
antibiotics.
The disease outbreak is the country's first since
January's 7.0 earthquake claimed more than
300,000 lives.
A spokeswoman with the United Nations Office for
the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said the
source of what's causing the problems is still
being investigated.
"We have not received any confirmation on what is
causing an increase of diarrhea in the lower
Artibonite region," Jessica Duplessi, a
spokeswoman with OCHA said. "There has been an
increase in cases of severe vomiting and
diarrhea, which in particular is quite an
epidemic in Haiti. We still don't know if it's
coming from one central source or not. That is
what the doctors and experts are trying to
analyze."
The Pan American Health Organization also warned
against concluding too soon that cholera was the
source of the outbreak.
"We just need confirmation of further
investigation before we change the labeling and
we have a precise diagnosis of the underlying
cause," said Dr. Michel Thieren, senior program
management officer with the PAHO Haiti Office.
"No one can say for sure. We are assisting with
all sorts of rumors."
He said PAHO officials and the ministry of health
officials sent an evaluation mission to the area,
and are awaiting the results of tests.
He said the joint PAHO/Ministry of Health
evaluation mission received reports of 1,526
cases and 138 deaths of unconfirmed severe
diarrhea. The numbers he said must be
investigated and remain "very questionable."
The reports spurred interest among some of
Haiti's candidates in the Nov. 28 presidential
and legislative elections. Both presidential
hopefuls Jude Célestin and Charles Henri Baker
spent the day visiting rural communities impacted
by the outbreak and said they went as concerned
citizens.
"Every courtyard has at least three to four
deaths," Célestin said in a statement, noting
that he first heard the news Wednesday and
traveled to the communities early Thursday
morning. "People told us they had their kids
dying and they did not know what it was. They
said the deaths came after the rain. In Drouin,
the chief doctor told us they had more than 50
deaths."
Baker said he was on a campaign tour in the
region when he heard the news. He described a
scene of people being laid out onto sidewalks,
and children dying in the back of one of his
campaign pickup trucks before it even reached the
hospital.
"It's bad, Baker told The Herald by telephone,
describing the emaciated look of people in the
rural towns of Bac d'Aquin and Danash. ``They
were just putting people on the side of the road.
They look like skeletons.''
Baker said he was told that between 60 and 70
people had died from dehydration and diarrhea. In
one town, he saw only one ambulance, and left one
of the campaign trucks to transport sick
residents.
"I don't even feel like campaigning anymore. It's
unbelievable when they tell you the number of
people who are sick," he said, describing the
problem as "pretty widespread at the moment."
"I don't see anybody really taking charge . . .
The government needs to be here, take some
samples, run some tests and see if it is the
water. We need confirmation, not hearsay. The
urgency is to save the lives of those who are
already sick."
On Wednesday, the National Palace ordered at
least 4,000 gallons of water, and the Center
National des Equipments (CNE), which Célestin
formerly headed, ordered up 6,000 gallons of
water. The deliveries continued Thursday with
thousands more gallons of water delivered in.
We have indications of an infectious disease
event in Haiti (Artibonite Valley) rated now at a
possible IDIS Category 4 infectious disease event
transitioning to a Category 5, defined as:
IDIS Category 4. Infectious disease event
associated with social disruption. Category
4 events highlight when organized response
has occurred, yet significant social disruption
has been documented.
IDIS Category 5. Infectious disease event associated with disaster indicators.
Key observations as of the date/time of this message:
-Non-routine occurrence of diarrheal disease,
described by Dr. Claude Surena, President of the
Haitian Medical Association, as "according to the
results of the analysis carried out in the
laboratory it is cholera" to AFP
<http://news.smh.com.au/breaking-news-world/cholera-epidemic-in-quakehit-haiti-135-dead-20101022-16weh.html>
-We note, however, that true laboratory-confirmed
cholera has not been reported since the early
1990s [probably earlier - Mod.LM] and thus are
skeptical of etiology being true cholera
1500 cases reported with 135 fatalities, rapid
disease onset noted along with high pediatric
case counts reported
-Photographs and direct observations from St
Nicholas Hospital in St Marc and comments from
Dr. Surena indicate the hospital is overwhelmed
and now in the process of divesting patients to
other clinics for treatment- indicative /
suggestive of local medical capacity collapse;
photographs show multiple patients on IV therapy
-ORS is being used and is being mobilized.
PROMESS aware, however logistics status unknown.
-Local infrastructure to respond in Artibonite is
severely limited, with evidence of poor
information sharing and alerting capacity.
Public health resources are much more limited
than in Port-au-Prince
-Significant community anxiety noted; indigenous
Haitians claiming the presence of "cholera" and
surging advice via Twitter for proper food and
water handling / sanitation precautions
-International NGOs are mobilizing, and the UN
Clusters are mobilizing around the issue such as
WASH and Health.
-Statements to-date/time from WHO/PAHO and MSPP
emphasize no laboratory confirmation
-Tremendous and abrupt international
sensitization as evidenced by Twitter and HEAS
web portal hit counts
We wish to emphasize the purpose of Infectious
Disease Impact Scale (IDIS) is a heuristic
mechanism to contextualize emerging indicators
pertaining to possible infectious disease
events possibly evolving to crises and perhaps
disasters. Therefore, while we are confident the
event is a true diarrheal disease event, we are
unable to verify if it is truly due to cholera or
that it is truly a Category 4-5 event at this
time. What we are implying is immediate closer
scrutiny and verification is required. Haiti is
currently in the major rainy season, which is
expected to persist through November.
We eagerly await clarity from WHO/PAHO or MSPP.
--
[Cholera entered the Americas region in 1991 with
the initial outbreak starting in Peru (speculated
to be related to a Chinese freighter dumping it's
bilge close to the shore line as it travelled
northward in the country). Checking the table on
the PAHO website
(<http://www.paho.org/Spanish/AD/DPC/CD/cholera-1990-2006.pdf>),
during the period 1991 and 2006 most countries in
continental Latin America were affected at one
point or another with cholera cases (Mexico,
Central America and South America), whereas no
cases were officially reported from the Caribbean
Islands, including Hispanola.
I would not be surprised if there was a cholera
outbreak in Haiti. A 9 percent CFR would not be
surprising for the beginning of such an outbreak
before the supply network is geared up for
distribution of water and ORS, and IV solutions
where needed. (Nigeria reports a 10-14% CFR for
example, although in Peru in 1991 there was a
less than 1% CFR as the country's logistic system
was phenomenal). - Mod.MPP]
[The occurrence of acute watery diarrhea with
many fatalities among adults is indeed suggestive
of cholera. However cholera has not been seen in
Haiti or elsewhere in the Caribbean for many
years and it is difficult to understand how it
could be introduced (food? relief workers?) at
this time. However, laboratory detection of
_Vibrio cholerae_ is not difficult and numerous
media reports (though no official reports) are
now indicating that this has occurred.
Certainly conditions are ripe for the spread of
cholera in Haiti if and when it is introduced,
compounding an already desperate situation.
ProMED awaits further information and
confirmation of the etiology or etiologies, along
with serotype and other details. - Mod.LM]
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 138 people, at least 1,500 infected
Haiti-Health: The Cholera O1 type kills many people in the North and the East
Friday, October 22, 2010
P-au-P., October 22, 2010 [AlterPresse] --- A cholera epidemic of type O1 was declared in the north and east of Haiti and did during the last 72 hours 142 dead, then that 1600 cases were identified, according to the private station Radio Vision 2000.
Health authorities confirmed the presence of cholera O1 type in the country, but argue that 118 people died in the affected areas and 1024 cases are reported.
The Director General of the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP), Dr. Timothy Gabriel, told AlterPresse that tests conducted by the National Public Health Laboratory confirmed the nature of the disease.
He said the worst affected areas are located at the department of Artibonite and four deaths were counted and identified 106 cases in Mirebalais, city department of the Central Plateau (east).
Other sources cited by the media are state rather than a dozen dead in Mirebalais.
"We're in a health emergency," said Dr Timothy.
He stressed that cholera O1 type version is the most dangerous of the disease. "With the mobility of the population, the risk of spread is real," he adds.http://www.alterpresse.org/spip.php?article10154
An outbreak of cholera north of Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, has killed almost 200 people and left at least 2,600 others sick, officials say.
Haiti's president and medical officials have confirmed that an outbreak of cholera has killed scores of people north of the capital Port-au-Prince.
The victims suffered diarrhoea, acute fever and vomiting. More than 1,500 people were infected, officials said. President Rene Preval said his government was taking steps to ensure the disease did not spread further.
There are fears the outbreak could reach the camps around the capital for survivors of January's earthquake.
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 138 people, at least 1,500 infected
Assistant Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs and Deputy Emergency Relief Coordinator Catherine Bragg - Remarks to the press at the noon briefing, Friday 22 October 2010, New York
<!-- START BOTTOM Attachments links -->
<!-- END BOTTOM Attachments links -->
<!--Attention ligne utilis?e pour l'impression-->
Good afternoon. It is very nice to see you all again.
I visited Haiti for three days earlier this week to take stock of the ongoing humanitarian response since the earthquake on 12 January. In Port-Au-Prince I met people involved in the relief effort from the UN, non-governmental organisations and the Government of Haiti, and met earthquake survivors at the Mais Gate spontaneous camp and also at Tabarre Issa which is an organised camp. I also travelled to Leogane which as you recall was the epicentre of the earthquake.
But before I get to the takeaways from the mission, I want to speak directly to the cholera outbreak that was confirmed last night by the Government of Haiti, and about which I am very very concerned.
The UN and the humanitarian community will be doing everything we can in the days ahead to help the Government of Haiti and local authorities with its response.
According to the Government's statistics, over 1,500 cases have been confirmed and 138 deaths have been recorded. At the request of the Haitian government, the humanitarian community started responding as soon as the first suspected cases were discovered.
Medical teams have been mobilised, medical supplies are being provided to the local hospital, including 10,000 boxes of water purification tablets, 2,500 jerry cans, and the same number of buckets and hygiene kits are being distributed. More teams are travelling to the area to help the local authorities make a detailed assessment of needs.
The point here is that cholera deaths are preventable, and we are doing everything we can to assist the Haitian authorities to prevent further deaths. Agencies involved in health in Haiti report a stock of 300,000 courses of antibiotics are already in country and ready for distribution. So we are confident that we can do a lot and quickly head this off.
Spread of the disease can also be averted with clean water, soap, and by improving sanitation. The cholera outbreak is happening in St Marc, which is not near any of the main displaced camps and the earthquake affected areas in Haiti.
This extremely concerning development does not detract from my overall sense after my mission that an enormous amount has been accomplished by the Government of Haiti, the humanitarian community, and all those who have been involved in the relief effort since the earthquake in January.
We are all conscious of the shortcomings of the response and the extremely difficult conditions which many of the earthquake survivors are still living in, but the magnitude of what has been achieved should not be forgotten. If you go back and look at what we committed to do in the Consolidated Appeal launched 72 hours after the earthquake, and revised three months after that, we have actually done what we set out to do.
All the strategic objectives and targets set for providing life-saving humanitarian assistance have been met, or we are on track to meet them.
Consequently, until this week, we have not seen major outbreaks of infectious diseases anywhere in Haiti, and so far none in any of the camps. Thanks to the work done there has not been a second wave of mortality which everyone feared six months ago. There has been loss of life during the hurricane season ? and we are still not out of the woods yet. But for the most part, the shelter that has been provided has stood up. Unfortunately now we are responding to a cholera outbreak, but we need to note that the healthcare, sanitation and clean water provided since the earthquake have saved many, many lives. Everyone that we planned to provide food aid to has been reached.
However, clearly a lot more needs to be done. Some of the conditions in the camps are truly awful, as I saw for myself this week. In one of the camps I visited I spent time with a young woman sharing a three metre by four metre shack made of scavenged tin with seven other people. Under the sun the shack was boiling inside ? over 40 degrees Celsius. When it rains, water pours through the tin and the dirt floor turns to thick mud.
She has a two month old baby ? that means she spent her entire pregnancy in these conditions, and now has to raise a child there. Everyone agrees this kind of situation is totally unacceptable, and we need to focus on making conditions right so that people will want to relocate. However, with 1.3 million people still living in camps, we also need to be realistic about how long it is going to take to get everybody to where they want to be.
Which takes me to my third point - we should expect a significant humanitarian operation is still going to be needed in Haiti in 2011. Recovery efforts have to be accelerated so that that work underway can be phased out. But given the amount that still needs to happen in terms of rehabilitating housing, removing rubble, and re-establishing basic services in areas people are returning to, even in the best case scenario this is not going to happen overnight. So we will be re-launching a humanitarian appeal in January.
Thank you for your attention. I'm sure you have questions.
(CNN) -- The death toll from a cholera outbreak in Haiti has risen to more than 150 confirmed deaths, according to health officials with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and the U.S. Agency for International Development.
At a joint news conference held Friday, Dr. Rob Quick and Dr. Carleene Dei discussed the outbreak and efforts to work out a containment strategy.
The CDC will send an 11-member team to Haiti over the next few days to find out which antibiotics will be most effective in treating the cholera outbreak.
US AID will provide supplies needed to set up treatment centers. The group has already prepositioned 300,000 oral re-hydration kits and are distributing water purification kits in affected areas.
Officials also confirmed that all the reported cases are in the Artibonite and Central Plateau regions, north of Port-au-Prince. They said they're working to contain the outbreak there and prevent its spread to the densely populated capital.
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 138 people, at least 1,500 infected
Haiti fears spread of cholera with 150 already dead, thousands sick
Published: Friday, October 22, 2010, 9:27 PM Updated: Friday, October 22, 2010, 9:31 PM
The New York Times
By Donald G. McNeil Jr.
A cholera outbreak in a rural area of northwestern Haiti has killed more than 150 people and overwhelmed local hospitals with thousands of the sick, the World Health Organization said Friday, Oct. 22.
The development increases long-held fears of an epidemic that could spread to the encampments sheltering more than a million Haitians displaced by the January earthquake.
Even as relief organizations rushed doctors, medical supplies and clean-water equipment toward the epicenter of the outbreak -- the Artibonite Valley, a rice-producing area about three hours north of the capital, Port-au-Prince -- Haitian radio reported cases surfacing elsewhere.
Re: Haiti: Cholera has killed 150+ people, at least 1,500 infected
Scores die in Haiti cholera outbreak
22 October 2010Last updated at 22:28 ET
A cholera outbreak has killed scores of people in central Haiti, President Rene Preval has confirmed. At least 196 people have died and 2,634 have been hospitalised by the illness, which causes diarrhoea, acute fever, vomiting and severe dehydration
Officials are taking steps to ensure the disease does not spread from the Artibonite and Central Plateau regions. They fear the death toll could soar if the outbreak reaches camps housing the survivors of January's earthquake.http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-latin-america-11608551
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