Why So Difficult?--November 2015

 

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Cholera Patient (Photo by John Carroll, 2011)

During the past five years Haiti has endured the largest cholera outbreak in the world.  A reported 900,000 Haitians have had cholera and 9,000 of them have died. However,  we need to remember that these are very rough numbers. During epidemics only 30% of cholera is recognized as cholera. And how many Haitians have had mild, moderate, or severe cholera in their isolated mountain villages and never made it to a health center to even become a statistic?

During the past five years I have personally witnessed Haitian nurses save many many Haitian lives by starting IV’s on shocky cholera victims and infusing liter after liter of fluid. Most cholera victims, if treated in an appropriate and timely fashion, will leave Cholera Treatment Centers (CTC) alive.  

Cholera is a treatable disease in Haiti. It should not be a death sentence.

So how do we help the people in Anse-a-Pitres with their current cholera outbreak? The refugees in the camps on the border are being infected as are people in LaSaline, a neighborhood in Anse. And people here are dying.

The Haitian Public Health Department (MSPP) needs to lead the way. The Haitian government needs to send in more cots, IV fluids, IV setups, and nurses. The current MSPP center in Anse is under equipped.

Who else can help?

There are Cuban medical teams near Jacmel and in Port-au-Prince who could help. The Cubans are well versed treating cholera in Haiti . Doctors Without Borders has done tremendous work in CTC’s in Haiti during the past five years. 

Foreign medical teams could come to Anse also. They could come from nearby Caribbean countries as well as North, Central, and South America. But Anse is very isolated and coming in from the mountains of Haiti or by sea from Haiti’s southern coast is not the easiest thing in the world to do—but it is possible. Arriving in Anse via Pedernales, DR would be very easy to do.

These teams would need equipment in place once they arrive. I can guarantee you that they don’t want to sit around and watch patients die due to lack of IV solution. MSPP has to be pro active and anticipate the needs of the region. 

And what about the UN who introduced the cholera bacteria to Haiti in the first place in October 2010? I would love to see the UN supply an infinite number of doctors and nurses as well as oral rehydration and IV solution for CTC’s all over Haiti during this deadly epidemic. Anse-a-Pitres needs their help now. 

John A. Carroll, MD

www.haitianhearts.org