Storm could impact cholera efforts in Haiti

As Tropical Storm Emily approaches Haiti, Partners In Health and its sister organization Zanmi Lasante are keeping a close watch on potential flooding and its impact on a recent resurgence of cholera cases.

According to the Associated Press, forecasters said the center of the storm was expected to pass over the southwestern corner of the Dominican Republic late Wednesday and was likely to weaken somewhat in the high mountains that divide the country from Haiti. But intense rain still poses a threat, with possible mudslides or flash floods.

Read the entire AP story, Tropical Storm Emily nears Dominican coast, Haiti.

Flooding could play a significant role in the spread of cholera, which is a water-borne disease. Already Partners In Health and Zanme Lasante have been responding to a second wave of cases, working tirelessly to scale up the availability of treatments including, oral rehydration salts antibiotics and IV fluids. In just three months, patients treated and hospitalized at PIH cholera clinics have nearly quadrupled from 3,932 in April to 14,425 in June.

Now, according to PBS NewHour, Tropical Storm Emily could compound the problem, bringing 10 inches of rain to Haiti. Talea Miller writes, “A tropical storm is dangerous for many reasons in Haiti, where tens of thousands of people are still living in tent camps more than a year and a half after a massive earthquake on July 12, 2010. The rainy conditions make containing sewage to specific areas very difficult, and cholera bacteria thrive in poor sanitation conditions.”

Read the entire PBS NewsHour story, Haiti Braces for Storm, Cholera Surge.

The United Nations has mobilized in response to the threat of Emily. A news alert released late Wednesday indicated nearly 12,000 UN peacekeepers are on emergency standby as the tropical storm approaches. “Last November, Hurricane Tomas caused widespread flooding, unleashing a cholera epidemic that killed hundreds and infected some 20,000 people,” the alert states, reflecting the gravity of another natural disaster striking a country still reeling from past and current disasters.

According the alert food stocks, medical kits, cholera treatment kits, tents and tarpaulins have already been pre-positioned throughout the country in preparation for the hurricane season.

Read the entire alert, UN forces on standby for emergency relief as tropical storm nears. 

To learn more about cholera in Haiti, and how Partners In Health is advocating for the construction of sewage treatment facilities and the use of an oral cholera vaccine, visit http://www.pih.org/pages/cholera.