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"Current official stats (confirm) more than 9,500 cases and 583 fatalities. In some areas of Haiti, we have confirmation that in-patient statistics are under-reported by as much as 400%. There is no question of under-reporting."
At one-fourth the true number, it means around 38,000 affected people. Again, the totals grow daily, HOB believing "the true statistic to be closer to more than 50k based on the degree of under-reporting. This is an uncontrolled, uncontained epidemic of cholera that has exceeded public health capacity to investigate and assess every site reported and every sample received."
Evidence also suggests that it spread cross border to the Dominican Republic, HOB calling it "expected." It's confirmed in multiple Haitian sites, including Port-au-Prince, the northwest, and southern peninsula. Transmission modes include contaminated food and water as well as human-to-human spread. Its presence in overcrowded Cite Soleil has "dire implications" for the capital.
HOB reports unconfirmed cases in Port-au-Prince's Carrefour community. "Other areas have reported cholera such as Grand and Petit Goave....Suspect (cases) have been reported in Les Cayes, Jacmel, and several other rural communities in the southern peninsula. We assume it is highly likely the epidemic has indeed extended to" this area. HOB concludes that:
"The cholera epidemic in Haiti proceeds in an uncontrolled, uncontained fashion and will likely encompass all of Haiti within a matter of weeks."
"Eventual regionalization of cholera in the Caribbean is a strong possibility but not a certainty if the pandemic of the early 1990s is a guide." Haiti experienced no cholera for the past 50 years. It's present now under very suspicious circumstances.
Two Nations Delivering Promised Aid
Virtually ignored in Western media reports, Cuba stands out. For years, hundreds of its doctors, nurses, and other medical specialists have provided Haitians with primary care, surgeries, and other professional services. After the earthquake, they worked round the clock delivering exemplary aid, helped by Venezuelan funding.
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