Haiti has announced that at least 8 people have died from cholera as a result of the disease’s sudden return to the country.
The disease killed nearly 10,000 people during the 2010 outbreak, which was blamed on United Nations peacekeeping forces.
The cases, the first death from cholera reported in three years, have occurred in a community called Dike in southern Port-au-Prince and in the gang-controlled coastal region of Cité des Soleils, where thousands live in appalling and unhygienic conditions.
“Cholera can spread very quickly,” warned Laurie Adrian, director general of the Haitian Ministry of Health.
The United Nations said in a statement that it is working with the Haitian government to “initiate an emergency response to this potential outbreak,” stressing that medical teams must ensure safe access to areas where cases have been reported.
And the gangs have shut down the country’s main fuel port since last month to protest the announcement of higher fuel prices.
Many hospitals have closed or reduced their work due to lack of fuel.
The disease usually spreads through water contaminated with the faeces of a sick person, which means that clean drinking water is needed to prevent its spread, and cholera causes uncontrolled diarrhea.
Source: AB