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Haiti Saw 1,000 New Cholera Cases Daily in June

Improved sanitation is the best way to combat the growing epidemic.

As reported weeks ago, Haiti’s rainy season has led to a resurgence in cholera. But it might be worse than originally thought.

 

According to the nation’s Health Ministry, there were 1,000 new cases reportedly daily last month, reports the Los Angeles Times.

 

Since the initial outbreak in October, more than 5,800 people have died from the water-borne illness brought to the nation by United Nations forces and exacerbated by cramped and unsanitary conditions in camps.

 

Now, officials believe that the best way to combat the epidemic is through improved sanitation.

 

"If we want to make cholera disappear, it will be with water and sanitation," Romain Gitenet, head of the Haiti mission for France-based Doctors Without Borders, told the paper.

 

A huge part of the sanitation problem is the lack of clean toilets, donated to temporary camps shortly after last year’s devastating earthquake.

 

“The fact that the toilets have been put in and there hasn’t been any follow-up or management is one of the biggest risks for cholera,” Dr. Sasha Kramer, who heads the organization SOIL (Sustainable Organic Integrated Livelihoods), told the Times.

(Photo: AP Photo/Eduardo Verdugo)

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