25 October 2010

U.S. Speeds Assistance to Haiti to Halt Cholera Outbreak

Heath concerns from the cholera outbreak in Haiti prompted the U.S. Embassy to declared an emergency, paving the way for expedited American aid to combat the disease.

By Stephen Kaufman
Staff Writer

Washington — In response to an outbreak of cholera in Haiti, the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince issued a disaster declaration October 22 that has helped to streamline delivery of U.S. funding and medical supplies to the country in recent days.

State Department spokesman P.J. Crowley told reporters October 25 that the Obama administration is focusing “intensive energy on the situation in Haiti,” where cholera has killed 259 people and infected more than 3,000 others.

The disaster declaration, issued by U.S. Ambassador to Haiti Kenneth Merten, “has enabled us to rapidly procure and provide 1,000 special cholera beds,” Crowley said, adding that a joint Haitian-U.S. epidemiological team is “continuing to oversee diagnosis, surveillant and treatment protocols, as we work with the Haitian government and other partners to stem the outbreak.”

According to an October 24 statement from the U.S. Embassy in Port-au-Prince, the epidemiological team includes employees from the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), and they are also working to “assess and train health care providers on the latest treatment and rehydration protocols.”

Cholera is an intestinal infection that causes diarrhea and vomiting and can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death. It is transmitted by water and food that has been contaminated due to inadequate sanitation and environmental-management lapses.

The embassy said the U.S. Agency for International Development (USAID) has mobilized the distribution of cholera treatment assets from the existing stocks of its implementing partners. The supplies include cots, pads, oral rehydration salts, intravenous fluids and disinfecting and water-purification solutions.

USAID will also provide Haiti with 60,000 units of lactated Ringer solution, which can treat up to 4,000 severely dehydrated patients, and is working with its partners to disseminate public health information to the Haitian public via radio, pamphlets and mobile loudspeakers, according to the embassy.   

Along with rapidly procuring and providing Haiti with the 1,000 cholera beds and other commodities, USAID has made an initial commitment of $100,000 to provide emergency support to the Haitian Ministry of Health, the embassy statement said.

According to the Reuters news agency, Haitian officials and international aid agencies are reporting a slower rate of deaths from cholera as of October 25.

The daily death toll, which had previously numbered dozens each day, fell to six on October 24, and the rate of infection is also decreasing.

Haitian and international aid agencies are remaining on high alert to prevent the disease from spreading into new areas of the country.

Health experts are especially worried about the vulnerability of 1.3 million survivors of the January 12 earthquake who are living in tent and tarpaulin camps, as well as tens of thousands more who live in slums beside filthy watercourses, Reuters reported.

(This is a product of the Bureau of International Information Programs, U.S. Department of State. Web site: http://www.america.gov)