- Cholera outbreak in Haiti
October 24, 2010 (KATAKAMI / RIA NOVOSTI) --- Canada will grant Haiti $1 million to help the Caribbean country fight a cholera outbreak, The Toronto Star reported on Sunday, citing Canadian Prime Minister Stephen Harper.
Harper said the money would also go to prevent further outbreaks of water-borne disease.
Haitian health officials confirmed the first cases of cholera in Haiti's capital, Port-au-Prince, on Saturday, saying that five people had become infected in the main outbreak area of Artibonite, to the north of Port-au-Prince, and were isolated after falling ill.
The cholera outbreak has sparked fears that the epidemic could grip thousands sheltered in refugee camps in the capital.
At least 208 people have died on the island since the outbreak of cholera nine months after a devastating January 12 earthquake killed more than 220,000 people in Haiti.
Officials have warned that the death toll from the epidemic, the first in half-century, could rise further as more than 2,000 cholera infections have been registered on the island.
A state of emergency has been declared in the epidemic-hit Artibonite. Medics and aide groups are working 24 hours to prevent the further spread of the disease.
Cholera is a bacterial infection that spreads through contaminated water, causing causes severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to dehydration and death within hours.
MOSCOW, October 24 (RIA Novosti)
