Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

EOC SITUATION REPORT #2 Cholera Outbreak in Haiti
Summary
• As of today, the MSPP (Ministère de la santé publique et de la population) has reported 2,564 cases and 194 deaths at the national level.
• MSPP’s national reference laboratory today confirmed cases in Ouest Department, including Port-au-Prince. In addition to Central Department and Artibonite Department which had confirmed cholera cases since Friday.
• Suspected cases have also been detected in Nord Department and Sud Department and results of confirmatory tests are pending.
• While no cases of cholera have been reported in Dominican Republican, the outbreak has prompted the Government to mobilize a contingency plan in the border area, while the border remains open.
PAHO/WHO Response
• PAHO continues the mobilization of experts in various fields including epidemiologists, risk communication, case management, laboratory, water and sanitation, logistics, and LSS/SUMA experts to both Haiti and Dominican Republican to provide technical support to MSPP and to strengthen the PAHO offices.
• PAHO currently has medicines and supplies to cover initial treatment needs in stock at the PROMESS warehouse near the Port-au-Prince airport. Additional supplies have been estimated based on new information and are in the process of being procured.
• The PAHO/WHO website has been populated with multilingual guidelines to provide general guideline during a cholera outbreak. The following documents readily available in PAHO’s website: Acute diarrhoeal diseases in complex emergencies: critical steps; First steps for managing an outbreak of acute diarrhea; Cholera fact sheet; Cholera outbreak: assessing the outbreak response and improving preparedness; and, Cholera: prevention and control. Other relevant documents are listed in the Resources section below.
• PAHO remains in close collaboration with health cluster partners, including the Cuban medical mission, MSF, MINUSTAH, OCHA, USAID, USCDC, UNICEF and other governmental and non-governmental organizations to respond to the outbreak. PAHO is also coordinating closely with health officials in the U.S. and Canada, including with HHS, the
Emergency Operations Center (EOC) – PAHO
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Saturday, October 23, 2010 6:00 PM, EDT
Cholera Outbreak in Haiti Pan American Health Organization
State Department, the CDC, NIH, and the FDA, and in Canada, with Health Canada, PHAC, and CIDA.
Cholera Key Facts
• Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by exposition, ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae 0:1.
• Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical in reducing the impact of cholera and other waterborne diseases.
• Up to 80% of cases can be successfully treated with oral rehydration salts. • There are an estimated 3–5 million cholera cases and 100 000–120 000 deaths due to
cholera every year around the world.