News
Haiti aid group warns of cholera surge
Posted: Feb 24, 2012 11:13 AM by Jacqui Heinrich
Updated: Feb 24, 2012 11:47 AM
PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti (AP) - A Haiti aid group warns on the eve of the rainy season that the Caribbean nation will likely see a surge in cholera cases.
Paul Farmer of the Boston-based group Partners in Health writes in an email Friday that Haiti could see a spike like the one that occurred last year.
The number of cholera cases nearly tripled from almost 19,000 last April to more than 50,000 two months later.
Partners in Health will launch a vaccination campaign in the coming weeks to stem the spread of the waterborne disease.
Haiti has the highest cholera infection rate in the world. Health officials say more than 7,000 people have died and another 522,000 have fallen ill since the disease surfaced in Haiti months after the January 2010 earthquake.
As Seen On News 5
