Santo Domingo.-Although since last week, after the notification of cholera cases in Haiti, Health has been applying measures to prevent the disease from entering the country, the Society of Infectious Diseases called for maintaining effective surveillance of diarrhea episodes, in case outbreaks arise. to intervene.
The president of this organization, Clevy Pérez, explained that the actions should always be aimed at safety in food preparation, good hand hygiene and ensuring drinking water, since this condition is transmitted by the intake of water and food. contaminated.
In this regard, he recalled that both globally and locally, there is a high percentage of the population that does not have access to drinking water, so it is necessary to improve health conditions and access to this service.
These measures serve not only to contain cholera, but also other health conditions, which are transmitted in this way.
While one of the main problems in the neighboring country, derived from the crisis they are going through, is precisely the limited access to drinking water and poor sanitation and hygiene facilities.
Hence, in that nation until the second of this month, according to the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO/WHO), more than 20 suspected cases of cholera had been detected, including seven deaths.
As the humanitarian and security crisis in Haiti has been compounded by armed gang violence, vulnerabilities have come to the fore including fuel shortages, internal displacement, malnutrition, and limited or non-existent access to health services. Health.
These last problems directly affect the current health situation, because the cases are not treated in a timely manner, in addition to making epidemiological surveillance difficult. This is even more serious considering that for the 2010 outbreak in Haiti, the bacterial disease infected more than 820,000 people and caused 9,792 deaths, so the national risk is assessed as very high.
In the country
– Endurance
Clevy Pérez maintained that cases are reported from time to time, the last being in 2019. He stressed that “cholera, especially the TOR variant, which is what we have in the country, is highly persistent in aquatic environments.”
In Haiti cholera causes 16 deaths
Figures. Deaths from cholera in the neighboring nation rose to 16 as of Sunday, according to the Haitian Ministry of Health and Population.
In the data collected from October 1 to 9, health authorities confirmed some 32 cases of the condition, while 189 people were hospitalized.
According to international media reports, according to the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratories and Research, nine inmates died and 39 are suspected of carrying the disease.
On the other hand, Public Health of the Dominican Republic is expected to move to Elías Piña today.
