"For a cholera outbreak to occur, two conditions have to be met: (1) there must be significant breaches in the water, sanitation, and hygiene infrastructure used by groups of people, permitting large-scale exposure to food or water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae organisms; and (2) cholera must be present in the population. While it is unclear how cholera was re-introduced to Haiti, both of these conditions now exist."
Cholera had not been documented in Haiti for decades so cholera outbreaks were considered unlikely to happen in Haiti immediately following the earthquake in January, 2010. It is like this country can't get a break but you have to say this the Haiti people have shown the world that they are a strong country and will continue to fight to see their country get back on its feet and better the lives of their people.
What is Cholera:
Cholera infection is most often asymptomatic or causes a mild gastroenteritis. However, about 5% of infected persons develop severe, dehydrating, acute watery diarrhea. The first line of treatment for cholera is rehydration. Administration of oral rehydration salts and, when necessary, intravenous fluids and electrolytes in a timely manner with adequate volumes will reduce case-fatality rates to <1%. Severe cases of cholera should be treated with antimicrobial agents to which the circulating strain is susceptible. Antimicrobial treatment is not recommended for mild cases of cholera and should never be used as “chemoprophylaxis” to prevent cholera on a mass scale.
As with other causes of acute watery diarrhea, the prevention and control of cholera require surveillance, heightened measures to ensure the safety of drinking water and food, and appropriate facilities and practices for disposal of feces and for handwashing. Although using vaccines to control an outbreak of cholera is complex, oral cholera vaccines are being considered for use among high-risk populations in Haiti.
UNICEF released its one-year report today.
One year on, children in Haiti are still reeling from the lingering impact of the 12 January earthquake, which remains the single largest catastrophe to hit the country in centuries. More than 220,000 lives were lost and countless families were fractured with 750,000 children directly affected. Still today more than one million people remain displaced, living in crowded camps where livelihoods, shelter and services are still hardly sufficient for children to stay healthy, fulfill their right to education, remain protected and have access to safe water, sanitation and hygiene. Bottlenecks to recovery have meanwhile slowed the pace of reconstruction, prolonging humanitarian needs into 2011.
Towards the end of the year cholera also broke out in Haiti—in an area that had not been affected by the quake—and the disease quickly spread to all ten departments, sweeping away thousands of lives in the space of a few weeks. Political crisis following the November elections made matters worse with insecurity impeding humanitarian actors’ capacity to move swiftly to save lives and expand coverage of preventive interventions to contain the disease.
To continue reading their report follow the link below:
Executive Summary
We have personal been working with the Haitian community for the last several years and it has always been so heart-breaking when we see the living conditions of this country and how families struggle to live by making mud cookies and selling them for a dime just to feed their families and the chronic malnutrition among children under 5. Before the earthquake Haiti was already in crisis so after the earthquake it has become worse and rebuilding Haiti will take a long time but with help coming from all over the world we can make a difference.
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