Cholera in Haiti has spread to every part of the country, CDC reports

[rabs]

By Rong-Gong Lin II, Los Angeles Times

December 8, 2010, 2:56 p.m.


ATLANTA -- The cholera outbreak has spread to every section of Haiti, sickening more than 91,000 people and killing more than 2,000, and is spreading into the Dominican Republic, the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention said Wednesday.

Nearly half of the ill were hospitalized. In some cases, the deaths are occurring as rapidly as two hours after people fall ill, according to the CDC report published in the Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report. Patients can lose as much as one liter of fluid an hour, said Dr. Jordan W. Tappero, director of the Health System Reconstruction Office at the CDC's Center for Global Health. "It's in all 10 of the country," Tappero told reporters from the Assn. of Healthcare Journalists on Wednesday at the CDC headquarters in Atlanta. "It’s everywhere."

Tappero said Haiti’s neighbor to the east, the Dominican Republic, is now reporting cases of cholera in its two largest cities. But he said it's hard to know how far the disease will spread there because that country has better access to sanitary water.


More:

http://www.latimes.com/health/boostershots/la-heb-cholera-haiti-20101208,0,4182902.story

------------------------

Recall someone posted an ultra-snide comment "Let there be cholera." Poster must be getting his jollies with above story.

[bemildred]

1. Spread to Dominican Rep. now.

Doing a heckuvajob containing & treating the epidemic.

[Judi Lynn]

2. Didn't see that comment, but I'm certain I have a good idea who may have posted it.

It's a real dishonor to have people like that among us.

This article is overwhelming, isn't it? I have to include more of the article, as it's also so sadly important:

The cholera epidemic has spread rapidly not only because of the poor health infrastructure and water sanitation in Haiti, but also because of some stark biological realities. Haiti hasn't seen cholera in at least a century, leaving the population without immunity to the disease.

Also, the strain of cholera is a hybrid strain of the "classic" type, which is associated with more severe illness, and the "El Tor" biotype, which is associated with staying in the environment longer, according to the CDC report. "You have a perfect storm for cholera," CDC director Thomas Frieden told reporters from the Assn. of Healthcare Journalists earlier this week.

The CDC report underscored the need to improve drinking water chlorination and access to safe drinking water. The report comes a day after the Associated Press reported that a contingent of U.N. peacekeepers was the likely source of the cholera outbreak, citing a report written by a scientist who was sent by the French government to assist Haitian health officials.

Recommending. Thank you.