Cholera prevention - Haiti Observer Blog

It has been reported that the United Nations is funding a project to vaccinate close to 200,000 people in Haiti against cholera epidemic. The campaign will be focused mainly in the departments of Antibonite, Centre and Arcahaie where most of the cholera cases have been detected in Haiti.

The vaccination campaign is divided into two phased. The first phase took place last August, with the second to begin in mid September.

Side effects of Anti-Cholera Vaccination:
There are many side effects reported for those who have received the Anti-Cholera Vaccination. Unwanted effects may include rare, difficulty in breathing or swallowing, hives, itching, reddening of skin, especially around ears, swelling of eyes, face, or inside of nose. You can also have the following side effects after the cholera vaccination: Fever, general feeling of discomfort or illness, headache, pain, redness, or swelling in the area of injection

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It can only happen in a few countries in the world and Haiti unfortunately is one of them. The U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon received hero's welcome in Haiti, despite causing over 8000 deaths, thousands orphans, widows and much more suffering among the Haitian population.

Due to his negligence, the cholera epidemic is now with the Haitian population and it will take a monumental effort to get ride of it. We can thank the U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon for that.

There have been many survivors of the Cholera epidemic who are currently struggling; children without parents, fathers and mothers without children, husbands and a wives without partners. U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon believes that he owes them nothing for their suffering.

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The 2010 earthquake that demolished Haiti's infrastructure robbed the poorest Haitians of what little they had, homes that were nothing more than hovels. Thrown into the streets of Port-au-Prince with no access to toilets, sanitation virtually did not exist. Having no clean potable water added to the misery.

Nine months following the January earthquake, in October 2010, a cholera epidemic took hold of Port-au-Prince, largely affecting those living in tent cities. These cities are still filled today with earthquake survivors, and cholera cases have increased noticeably since early 2012.

The United States Department of State has kept a travel advisory in place since the earthquake, cautioning American citizens to stay away from Haiti. With the exception of necessary business travel or humanitarian work, Americans are advised not to visit Haiti.
But others claim the majority of travelers to Haiti are not likely to contract cholera. However, they recommend a cholera prevention kit as a precautionary measure:

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Cholera, a potentially fatal disease in some cases affects the intestinal tract. Some forms of cholera are symptom-less, or exhibit only moderate signs of the illness. The onset of cholera symptoms happens within a 24- to 48-hour period. Typical signs of having contracted cholera include diarrhea, vomiting, and muscle cramps. In moderate cases, normally healthy people experience spontaneous and extreme amounts of watery diarrhea between one and five days of consuming food containing the Vibrio cholerae bacterium.

In extreme cases of cholera, which afflicts one out of twenty people, diarrhea is accompanied by vomiting and muscle cramps. These symptoms come on quickly, and excessive loss of body fluids caused by diarrhea will bring on dehydration. Dehydration may lead to shock. If this extreme form of cholera is left untreated, a person can die within a few short hours.

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Haiti's 2010 earthquake, which shook the country to its foundations, especially Port-au-Prince, displaced tens of thousands of Haitians. They were reduced to living in the streets, without adequate sanitation. Nine months later in October of 2010, a cholera epidemic began, and has continued afflicting the poorest segment of Haitians, many of whom remain living in tent cities.

The Ministry of Public Sanitation and the Population has recorded 581,952 cases of cholera as of July 2012, with a 7,455 death tally since October 2010. A noticeable rise in cholera cases have been reported since early 2012 in Centre, Nord, and Port-au-Prince. Port-au-Prince neighborhoods reporting cases of cholera include: Carrefour, Cité Soleil, Delmas, Kenscoff, Petionville, and Tabarre.

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In order to reduce the likelihood of a renewed outbreak of cholera. For the general population, the basics of cholera prevention are re-emphasized:

• use soap and water to disinfect hands before preparation of food, and during the consumption of it.
• disinfect plates, glasses, forks, knives, and spoons with hot water.
• disinfect hands after using toilet facilities.
• boil or disinfect possibly contaminated water.
• use disinfected water only for household tasks.

Because many poorer Haitians don't understand good sanitation habits, the Ministry of Health issues a stern warning to avoid defecating on the ground. And to also avoid defecation near bodies of water, natural or man-made.

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