Translated material
Epidemic Island
Cholera threatens refugee camps in Haiti
Nine months after the devastating earthquake, a new scourge struck Haiti - a cholera epidemic. At least 253 people have already died, another 3 thousand have been diagnosed with the disease and are hospitalized. The first victims were recorded in the capital of the state, Port-au-Prince. We are talking about a particularly dangerous strain of cholera O1, which can kill a person in just three hours.The epidemic has worsened the already difficult situation in Haiti after the January earthquake, which killed almost 300 thousand citizens and left about 3 million Haitians homeless.
Doctors fear the epidemic's death toll will number in the thousands if the disease reaches the tent camps where some 1.3 million Haitians are staying. Earthquake survivors are still huddled in tent cities with poor sanitation and minimal access to clean drinking water. It was the lack of clean drinking water that could cause an outbreak of cholera.
Haitian President Rene Preval, in an interview with Reuters, confirmed that it was cholera in the country and announced the measures being taken to prevent the spread of infection and panic. Préval urged people to maintain good hygiene, which is very difficult given the high population density in the tent cities.
According to Haitian Health Minister Alex Larsen, this is a particularly dangerous strain of cholera O1, which can be fatal within three hours as a result of instant dehydration. The greatest number of victims is observed in the Artibonite department in the north of the country and in the Mirbole region in the east. Hospitals there are completely clogged, and patients have to be taken to clinics located in other areas, thereby contributing to the increase in outbreaks of the epidemic. The first five cases of cholera were also recorded in the country's capital, Port-au-Prince. Most likely these are refugees from areas affected by the epidemic. The Haitian government fears panic if the epidemic reaches the capital, where millions of people live in makeshift camps. Due to the chaos that arose after the January earthquake, the work of rescuers and doctors and the distribution of humanitarian aid were paralyzed. Then, decisive action by the military was required to bring the crowd to reason.
Doctors, medicines and drinking water are being sent to help the affected regions.
Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper announced $1 million to Haiti to fight the epidemic.
On the same island as the Republic of Haiti there is another state - the Dominican Republic, whose authorities are afraid of the appearance of infected refugees on their territory and therefore have closed their borders to Haitians, introducing strict sanitary and epidemiological control. Fear of cholera may well force the already demoralized population of the island to leave their camps and seek salvation in other states of the Caribbean region.
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by bacteria of the species Vibrio cholerae. Vibrio cholerae lives in dirty water and dirty food, spreads, as a rule, in the form of epidemics, causing rapid loss of body fluids and varying degrees of dehydration, and in most cases causes death.
Cholera epidemics in the past were often accompanied by social unrest. For example, the famous Russian Cholera riots, which arose as a consequence of the cholera epidemic in 1830-1831. The reason for them was completely legitimate government measures: quarantines, armed cordons, travel bans. Influenced by rumors of deliberate poisoning of ordinary people by government officials and doctors, crowds smashed police departments and hospitals, killing officials, officers and landowners. Often riots could be pacified only by resorting to the help of regular troops.