The push is on to prevent a cholera outbreak in Haiti after devastating hurricane

Record ID: 84358

  • Title: The push is on to prevent a cholera outbreak in Haiti after devastating hurricane
  • Date: 12th October 2016
  • Summary: JEREMIE, HAITI (OCTOBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) WOMAN WALKING IN FRONT OF DESTROYED HOUSE EUROPEAN COMMISSION HUMANITARIAN AID POSTER VARIOUS OF VOLUNTEER WIPING MAN SICK WITH CHOLERA CHOLERA PATIENTS IN CHOLERA HOSPITAL IV BAGS WOMAN LYING IN HOSPITAL WITH IV BAG NURSES CARING FOR SICK PATIENT CROWDED CHOLERA HOSPITAL PEOPLE SICK WITH CHOLERA LINED UP OUTSIDE HOSPITAL PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI (OCTOBER 11, 2016) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (French) JOCELERME PRIVERT, PROVISIONAL PRESIDENT OF HAITI, SAYING: 'We have some urgent actions to handle. There are actions for the short-term: The people in shelters, you must feed them. We must give them water to drink. We must give them medication to avoid the spread of cholera.' CAPTAIN JUAN PABLO CLAVIJO OF COLOMBIAN NAVY WHO HAS TRAVELED WITH SHIP CARRYING WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM WALKING TOWARD PURIFIERS VARIOUS OF CAPTAIN CLAVIJO TURNING DIALS AND LOOKING AT WATER PURIFICATION SYSTEM COLOMBIAN SHIP ARC 7 DE AGOSTO WITH AID DOCKED AT PORT (SOUNDBITE) (Spanish) CAPTAIN JUAN PABLO CLAVIJO, COLOMBIAN NAVY, SAYING: 'We have the capacity to hand whatever water is needed, taking into account that we can go out to sea and produce the (potable) water as many times as we want to. We can provide water for 5,000 people, 10,000, an entire community of people, depending on how many times we go out to sea and we can desalinate the water with our equipment.' JEREMIE, HAITI (OCTOBER 10, 2016) (REUTERS) ADOLESCENTS GATHERING WATER WATER POURING INTO CONTAINER ADOLESCENTS CARRYING WATER JUGS WOMEN WASHING CLOTHES IN BODY OF WATER AMONG RUBBLE PAN OF HOUSES DESTROYED VARIOUS OF HOUSES DESTROYED BECAUSE OF HURRICANE MATTHEW
  • Embargoed: 27th October 2016 03:23
  • Keywords: Jeremie cholera Port-au-Prince Matthew
  • Location: JEREMIE + PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
  • City: JEREMIE + PORT-AU-PRINCE, HAITI
  • Country: Haiti
  • Topics: Disaster/Accidents,Wind/Hurricane/Typhoons/Tornadoes
  • Reuters ID: LVA00153KBXVR
  • Aspect Ratio: 16:9
  • Story Text:Relief workers in Haiti are rushing to provide clean water and medication to Haiti, where more than 200 cases of cholera have been reported since Hurricane Matthew.
    Cholera, spread through infected water, causes severe diarrhoea and can kill within hours if not treated.
    In hard-hit Jeremie, the cholera hospital is overflowing with patients.
    With peak cholera transmission season-- the rainy season of November to January-- right around the corner, President Jocelerme Privert said preventing the spread of the illness was a national priority.
    "We have some urgent actions to handle. There are actions for the short-term: the people in shelters, you must feed them. We must give them water to drink. We must give them medication to avoid the spread of cholera," he said.
    The powerful hurricane slammed into Haiti last week, killing at least 1,000 people according to a tally of numbers from local officials.
    Some 234 suspected cholera cases have been reported since then.
    Cholera is spread through contaminated water and has a short incubation period, which leads to rapid outbreaks.
    On Tuesday, a Colombian naval ship carrying equipment to purify water from the Caribbean pulled into Port-au-Prince to support relief efforts.
    Captain Juan Pablo Clavijo explained that the ship would go deeper into the sea for periods of 2 to 3 days to gather and process the water before returning to shore where it could then provide for the clean water needs of thousands.
    "We have the capacity to hand out whatever water is needed, taking into account that we can go out to sea and produce the (potable) water as many times as we want to. We can provide water for 5,000 people, 10,000, an entire community of people, depending on how many times we go out to sea and we can desalinate the water with our equipment," said Captain Clavijo.
    Cholera was introduced to Haiti accidentally by U.N. peacekeepers who dumped sewage into a river after the 2010 earthquake. The illness has since infected thousands of people, killing more than 9,000.
    The WHO has said it would send 1 million doses of cholera vaccine to Haiti.
  • Copyright Holder: REUTERS
  • Copyright Notice: (c) Copyright Thomson Reuters 2016. Open For Restrictions - http://about.reuters.com/fulllegal.asp
  • Usage Terms/Restrictions: None
Register