Haiti's cholera death toll reaches 259

The number of fatal victims in Haiti due to the cholera outbreak was of 259 and 3,342 infected people, Haitian Health Minister Gabriel Thimotee announced on Monday.


Haitians suffering from cholera wait for medical treatment with their relatives at a local hospital in the town of Saint Marc October 22, 2010. Quake-hit Haiti and its aid partners fought on Friday to stem a cholera epidemic that has killed over 150 people and sickened hundreds, with experts saying more cases could be expected before it was contained. (Xinhua/Reuters)
According to information reaching here from Port-au-Prince, Haiti's capital, Thimotee said that the total number of infected people is 3,342.

These figures were confirmed and ratified by Thimotee, despite earlier the figures were higher.

Thimotee also said that Haiti is seeking "to mobilize all the people" to avoid the cholera spread.

Daniel Epstien, spokesman of the Pan American Health Organization (PHO), said that he hopes "we will talking about the end of this epidemics in short times."

Spain's Secretary of Development Cooperation Soraya Rodriguez said in Madrid, Spain's capital, that it is urgent to set sanitary cordons in Haiti in order to stop the epidemic, which has been worsened by the effects of the earthquake occurred in February this year.

Meanwhile, in Dominican Republic, Customs General Director Rafael Camilo said that they will continue taking extreme measures "which are painful," but necessary, to prevent the cholera from entering Dominican Republic.

These measures included the total suspension of all the commercial exchange in the region, which have aroused strong protests from the Haitian merchants, who had thrown stones in the border between both countries.

Cholera, a waterborne bacterial infection, is transmitted mainly through drinking contaminated water and unsanitary conditions. The Artibonite River, which irrigates Haiti's rural center and provides water for thousands of people, is believed to be the source of the outbreak.

Source: Xinhua