Hailey Ward
10/21/2010
11:25pm
Blog 8
In Haiti recently there have been around 135 people who have been killed by a severe diarrhea; it is suspected to be cholera. Cholera is a waterborne bacterial infection spread through contaminated water. Severe diarrhea and vomiting causes dehydration and can kill someone in a matter of hours. Health officials are still awaiting test results to confirm if it is cholera. Hundreds of people flood the hospital seeking help. Many of the individuals lay on blankets outside in the hospital parking lot. Rain began to fall and nurses had to rush people inside. Doctors are testing for many diseases including cholera, typhoid, and other illnesses that are sweeping over Haiti. Haiti’s Health Ministry has recorded 135 deaths and over 1,000 cases on infection. Results to determine if the infection is in fact cholera should be confirmed soon. Trucks loaded with medical supplies were being sent to Haiti, however doctors say they need more personnel to help handle the amount of patients.
It is hard to imagine that many cases of cholera. Haiti was devastated by an earthquake in January and they are still facing the horrible effects from that tragic event. Nine months after the quake things seemed to be looking up; now people are dying of brutal diarrhea and vomiting. It seems like with every step forward, they take two steps back. Haiti is one of the poorest countries in the world. There healthcare system never compared to what we are used to in the United States. I feel very fortunate to live in the United States and have adequate healthcare. I feel like if we were to have a cholera outbreak we would recover quickly. Even if we were struck by a serious earthquake we are fortunate to have the resources to handle a situation like this.
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