March 17, 2011. Cholera epidemic underestimated in Haiti
| SOURCE: | Altegrity Risk International |
The cholera epidemic affecting Haiti looks set to be far worse than officials initially thought, according to experts on March 16th. Rather than affecting a predicted 400,000 people, the diarrhoeal disease could strike nearly twice as many. The World Health Organization says everything possible is being done to contain the disease and warns that modeling estimates can be inaccurate. The bacterial disease is spread from person-to-person through contaminated food and water.
Between October and December 2010, some 150,000 people contracted cholera and an estimated 3,500 died. Researchers now believe the toll could reach 779,000, with 11,100 deaths by the end of November 2011.
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