PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti, October 3, CMC – Haiti has confirmed that at least eight people have died from cholera three weeks after the United Nations had confirmed an outbreak of the waterborne disease in the French-speaking Caribbean Community (CARICOM) country.
Haiti had not recorded a case of the disease in the last three years. The Ministry of Health said the first case was discovered in the Savane Pistache/ Decayette area of Port-au-Prince, with additional suspected cases being investigated in the Brooklyn neighborhood of Cité Soleil.
“The United Nations is actively monitoring the situation and is working with the government to mount an emergency response to this potential outbreak, focused not only on limiting the spread of the disease but also on informing the population how to take immediate lifesaving action at the household level,” the UN said.
“Additional support will include expanded surveillance, increased water and sanitation provision, the opening of cholera treatment centers, and the reinforcement of case management.”
Cholera first appeared in Haiti 12 years ago this month when an outbreak was confirmed on October 20, 2010. More than 800,000 Haitians became infected, and over 10,000 died. Haitian health authorities had said that the disease was brought into the country by UN peacekeepers from Nepal. The UN refused to admit its responsibility or apologize, leaving some independent rights experts to criticize its response and failure to compensate victims.
On Sunday, the UN said specialized emergency response teams are ready to be deployed to support affected communities but acknowledged that it might be challenging given the prevailing socio-political environment where criminal gangs have been staging rival gang warfare, and persons have been staging anti-government protests.
“These teams must be guaranteed safe access to areas where cases have been confirmed or suspected to help mitigate the risk of a large or disruptive outbreak,” the UN said, noting that Haiti is also dealing with a shortage of fuel as the gangs continue to block access in and out of the main fuel terminal.
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