Infectious Disease

Cholera in Haiti a ‘really desperate’ situation

October 17, 2023

2 min watch

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .


data-action=”subscribe”>
Subscribe

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact [email protected].

Back to Healio

BOSTON — An ongoing outbreak of cholera in Haiti has infected nearly 1 million people, and the situation will not improve unless action is taken, Louise Ivers, MD, MPH, FIDSA, FASTMH, told Healio at IDWeek.

Haiti is currently battling a major cholera outbreak that began in 2010, upsurged in 2022 and hit Haiti during a difficult humanitarian situation, Ivers, faculty director of the Center for Global Health at the Harvard Global Health Institute, explained.

“Despite a decade of this diarrheal disease, we have made no progress on water access,” she said, adding that only approximately eight out of every 100 homes in Haiti have access to clean drinking water. “This is a major contributor to the problem.”

Ivers said a political crisis — a blockade of fuel that prevented water trucks from moving around urban areas in Haiti — has also confounded the problem.

“The situation is really desperate,” she said.

In this video, Ivers provides an update on the current situation in Haiti while also addressing what can be done to help, including a call to action and vaccine access.

Published by:
infectious disease news logo

Add topic to email alerts

Receive an email when new articles are posted on

Please provide your email address to receive an email when new articles are posted on .


data-action=”subscribe”>
Subscribe

We were unable to process your request. Please try again later. If you continue to have this issue please contact [email protected].

Back to Healio

thin banner showing an illustration of infectious disease

IDWeek

Related Articles