PIH Facilities Treat over 5,400 Cholera Patients in August
by Partners In Health
PIH/ZL's 15 cholera treatme
nt facilities saw a drop of nearly 60
percent in patient hospitalizations in August, as the number of new
cases reverted to the levels recorded before the beginning of the rainy
season.
PIH/ZL is building CTC's with concrete floors and tin roofs, a sign that cholera will be in Haiti for the foreseeable future.
The steep decline in hospitalizations confirmed predictions that the
epidemic can be expected to fluctuate along with changes in rainfall,
flooding, and other factors.
But the 5,400 hospitalizations in August –
comparable to the baseline average of 4,900 during the dry months
between February and May – highlighted the harsh reality that cholera
will be in Haiti for the foreseeable future.
The bacteria
have contaminated the lakes, rivers, and canals that millions of people
rely on for water to drink and bathe. Heavy rains or tropical storms
could well trigger another spike in cholera cases and deaths before the
rainy season ends in November.
Steps necessary to confront a deadly disease
PIH/ZL has continued to implement and advocate for the comprehensive
package of prevention and treatment measures needed to combat cholera.
At the local level, PIH/ZL has stepped up hiring and training of community health workers
to reinforce hygiene education and quickly identify cases in poor and
isolated communities. And PIH/ZL's cholera treatment facilities are
being moved from tents to solid wooden structures with concrete
foundations and sheet-metal roofs.
On the national and
international scale, PIH/ZL continues to advocate for investment in the
municipal water and sanitation systems that are needed to provide
reliable access to clean water. PIH/ZL continues working with other
organizations to mobilize support and resources for another key element
of a comprehensive prevention and treatment strategy – vaccination.
A cheap, effective oral cholera vaccine exists. But only a limited
number of doses are available. A coalition of international medical and
public health experts led by PIH co-founder Paul Farmer has called for
development of a two million dose stockpile for Haiti and a 10 million
dose global stock to combat cholera around the world. PIH/ZL has teamed
up with GHESKIO, a longtime partner based in Port-au-Prince, to plan a
100,000-patient pilot vaccination campaign targeting vulnerable
populations in both rural and urban areas.
One of the new cholera-related buildings under construction in Mirebalais.
Tens of thousands continue to suffer
The decline in hospitalizations from 12,649 in July to 5,400 in August at PIH/ZL clinics mirrors the MSPP’s updated cholera numbers
for the entire country. In August, roughly 20,000 people contracted
cholera nationally, compared to the 50,000 new cases seen in July.
Since the first cholera cases were reported last October, just over
440,000 Haitians have contracted the disease and nearly 6,300 have died.
Learn more about PIH’s cholera response.
