Cholera Reaches Haitian Capital

Haitian authorities have confirmed at least 73 cases of cholera in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, where officials fear a possible escalation of the epidemic.

The deputy director of the Pan American Health Organization, Dr. Jon Andrus, said the crowded capital is “ripe for the spread of cholera” because of the poor water and sanitation conditions.

Speaking in Washington Tuesday, Andrus said there will likely be a large upsurge in the number of cases in the city in the coming days.

Andrus said although the impact of Hurricane Tomas was less than expected, flooding pushed rivers over their banks and likely aggravated the health crisis.

Hundreds of thousands of people have been living in tent cities in Port-au-Prince since January’s devastating earthquake.

Andrus said his agency expects the cholera epidemic to continue next year, with some 270,000 cases possible.

Haiti’s health ministry says 583 people have died in the cholera outbreak. Earlier Tuesday, medical officials confirmed the first fatality from the disease in Port-au-Prince.

The general director of the Ministry of Health, Gabriel Timothe, described the epidemic as a problem of national security with more than 9,000 people being hospitalized since the outbreak began late last month.

U.S. State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley says the United States is working with Haiti to control the outbreak. He says Haiti has launched an aggressive response, and he notes that the mortality rate has fallen significantly compared to the number of cases.

Officials first reported the outbreak in the Artibonite region north of the capital, and the disease has spread to half of the Caribbean nation’s 10 administrative regions.

The ingestion of contaminated food or water causes cholera, which can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death.

Some information in this story was provided by AP, AFP and Reuters.