(Geneva) The toll of the cholera epidemic raging in Haiti will likely be “higher” than the figures announced and the number of cases is expected to increase, the World Health Organization (WHO) warned on Tuesday.
Posted at 9:11 a.m.
The multiple crises facing the country will complicate the response, adds the WHO.
On Sunday, authorities in Haiti announced the death of at least seven people from cholera in the country, the first deaths from the disease in three years.
The announcement rekindled fears of a resurgence in this impoverished Caribbean country where a cholera epidemic killed more than 10,000 people between 2010 and 2019. The virus was introduced by UN peacekeepers.
Many suspected cases have been reported in Carrefour-Feuilles in the suburbs of the capital Port-au-Prince as well as in the town of Cité Soleil.
These gang-controlled areas have been very difficult to access since the end of July. Living conditions have deteriorated in Haiti in recent weeks with lockdowns, fuel shortages, protests, looting and strikes.
“This situation greatly complicates the humanitarian response,” WHO spokesman Christian Lindmeier told reporters in Geneva.
“The situation is changing rapidly and it is possible that previous cases have not been detected,” he added, believing that the number of deaths could be “much higher” and “increase”.
Lindmeier said a request was pending with the International Coordinating Group for the supply of oral cholera vaccines. However, the availability of these vaccines remains limited, with demand exceeding supply.
Haiti celebrated the official elimination of cholera last February, the last case – before those announced on Sunday – having been identified in 2019.
In 2010, the epidemic began when peacekeepers spilled faeces into the Artibonite river, and the first cases appeared in this region, before spreading throughout the country. The UN admitted having played a role in the introduction of the virus only in August 2016.
According to Lindmeier, no information is yet available on where the current outbreak started. The UN has said it is ready to deploy emergency teams as soon as safe access is guaranteed and fuel supplies are released.
The world is facing a “worrying resurgence” of cholera, after years of decline, a disease favored by the effects of climate change, the WHO warned on Friday.
During the first nine months of the year, 26 countries reported epidemics, compared to less than 20 per year between 2017 and 2021, according to the WHO.