Il Nuovo Postiglione - Cholera cases on the rise in Haiti

NYSE - LSE

CMSC	0.4%	22.314	$
CMSD	0.11%	22.285	$
RBGPF	0%	69.04	$
SCS	0.37%	10.74	$
RELX	0.06%	53	$
RIO	-0.24%	59.33	$
GSK	0.31%	41.45	$
NGG	0.38%	71.48	$
BP	0.58%	30.4	$
BTI	1.48%	48.215	$
BCC	0.87%	91.02	$
JRI	0.15%	13.13	$
VOD	0.1%	9.85	$
BCE	-0.27%	22.445	$
RYCEF	0.83%	12	$
AZN	-0.16%	73.71	$

Cholera cases on the rise in Haiti

HEALTH 19.10.2022

Cholera cases on the rise in Haiti / Photo: Richard Pierrin - AFP

Cholera cases are rising in Haiti, according to Health Ministry figures obtained by AFP on Tuesday, fueling fears of a new disaster in a country already deep in a humanitarian and security crisis.

Text size:

As of Monday, 606 suspected cases and 66 confirmed cases had been identified, according to a ministry report.

That constitutes an increase of 222 new suspected cases between October 13 and 17. In addition, 22 deaths were recorded in medical facilities.

Suspected cases have also been recorded in new regions of the impoverished Caribbean country, in particular in the central region.

One of the epicenters of the disease is the civilian prison in Port-au-Prince, with 271 suspected cases, 12 confirmed and 14 people dead, the ministry report said.

The new assessment came a day after a meeting at the United Nations where the Security Council discussed deploying a special international force to Haiti to deal with the humanitarian and security crisis.

Secretary-General Antonio Guterres described the situation as "absolutely nightmarish," with criminal gangs blockading the country's main oil terminal.

Speaking at the United Nations, Haitian Foreign Minister Jean Victor Geneus said he had "the delicate mission of bringing before the Security Council the cry of distress of an entire suffering people and of saying loudly and intelligibly that the Haitians don't live, they survive."

While the number of cholera cases continues to rise, protests have resumed in Port-au-Prince and around the country to demand the resignation of Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

A demonstration of several hundred people was dispersed on Monday with tear gas not far from the US embassy.

Haiti suffered a cholera epidemic between 2010 and 2019 that was accidentally introduced by UN peacekeeping troops and killed more than 10,000 people.

D.Campanella--INP

Featured

Deadly dengue fever impacts climate-hit Bangladesh coast

Mosquito-borne dengue fever was rarely a major problem in Bangladesh's coastal districts, but some hospitals are so full of those with the potentially deadly virus that patients are treated on the floor.

'Companions' ease pain of China's bustling, bamboozling hospitals

At a bustling Beijing hospital, Tian Yigui hands over some of his elderly wife's paperwork to Meng Jia, a "patient companion" hired to help navigate China's stretched and bureaucratic healthcare system.

Millions in US sweat out first extreme heat wave of year

A potentially life-threatening heat wave enveloped the eastern third of the United States on Monday impacting nearly 160 million people, with temperatures this week expected to reach 102 degrees Fahrenheit (39 degrees Celsius) in the New York metropolitan area.

Toxic threat from 'forever chemicals' sparks resistance in Georgia towns

Sasha and Jamie Cordle thought their small farm in rural Georgia would be a ladder out of working-class struggle, and a gift for their children and grandchildren.