PORT AU PRINCE, Haiti – Health officials on Sunday confirmed the death of at least seven people in what has been described as the surprise return of cholera – the water-borne disease.
Haitian citizens wait to receive care by aid groups. The UN said in a recent statement that it's working with Haiti’s government to make sure that health teams are guaranteed safe access to areas where cases have been reported. (Photo courtesy of the CDC)According to General Director of Haiti’s Ministry of Health, Laure Adrien officials are still struggling to get information from hospitals.
“There was one death during the day today (Sunday),” said Adrien.
The Health Ministry earlier confirmed one case in the Port-au-Prince area as well as reports of suspect cases in the town of Cite Soleil outside the capital.
Cholera, that is typically spread by water contaminated with the feces of a sick person, causes uncontrollable diarrhea.
In 2010 – the disease killed some 10,000 people in an outbreak was blamed on a United Nations peacekeeping force.
The UN peacekeeping force came from Nepal, where cholera is endemic.
The United Nations in 2016 apologized for the outbreak, without taking responsibility.
This latest outbreak follows a report made by the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO), which said that Haiti had gone a year with no confirmed cholera cases.
