Cholera Death Toll Rises in Haiti

According to the Associated Press on Monday November 22, Haiti’s Ministry of Health announced that more than 1,100 people have died from Cholera. This death toll is more than 150 counts higher than reported by BBC World News and other sources last weekend.

Thankfully, International Child Care has reported no cases of Cholera amongst patients and staff. A Cholera Response Plan has been developed by ICC Haiti, and measures are in place to prevent outbreaks from occurring at GCH and in surrounding tent cities. ICC’s primary weapon in fighting the outbreak is through education of the public about how to prevent the transmission of the infection by using good hygiene practices like hand washing. In light of this epidemic, ICC is acquiring a stock of medicines, such as antibiotics like Doxycicline and oral re-hydration salts, and has developed a contingency plant to treat and monitor those who contract the infection.  Two tents will be erected on the hospital grounds in the near future and will serve as treatment facilities.

As days go by hundreds of people in Haiti are contracting this often fatal intestinal disease that is caused by the ingestion of contaminated water or food and is transmitted by feces. What makes this situation even worst is the fact that the unsanitary living environments in many parts of Haiti are ideal conditions for the rapid transmission of this infection. The Associated Press reports that many people living in the Cap-Haitien area claim that the outbreak was brought to the island by UN peacekeepers. In October, just weeks after an outbreak in Nepal where Cholera is endemic, soldiers were deployed and stationed on the Artibonite River System which is the site of the infection’s first occurrence. The Centre for Disease Control has confirmed that the bacterial strain in Haiti matches a strain specific to South Asia. Moreover, as the infection continues to spread, suspicion about its origin continues to fuel fear and riots between UN soldiers and residents in Northern Haiti and in Port-au-Prince.

The nation of Haiti has been suffering tremendously. Please continue to uphold the people of Haiti in your prayers. Thank you for your continued support of ICC’s work!! Please click here to donate now.

We will provide more updates as we receive them.


To view CTV's W5 coverage on Dr. John Yates during his visit to Haiti just days after the earthquake click here.

To view the interview of Robenson Lucceus, ICC Haiti's Public Relations Officer, please click on this link.

To view ICC's latest video update click here.