PORT-AU-PRINCE, October 19 (Prensa Latina) Haiti today completed the second day of cholera vaccination, which focuses on children between the ages of one and five, one of the hardest hit by the recent outbreak of the disease.
Last week, authorities received 1.17 million doses of the drug Euvichol and are expecting another 500,000 to try to stem the spread of the disease, which has been responsible for 305 deaths so far.
The current campaign is set to be extended until next Thursday and then December 27 and 28, mainly in Port-au-Prince’s most vulnerable cities such as Cité Soleil, Delmas and Carrefour, as well as Mirebalais, a city in the center of the country.
It is expected that up to 10 percent of the population will receive the immunizing drug six months after initial use and two full years with the full regimen.
The United Nations Children’s Fund announced Monday that it is working with the authorities on vaccines, biomedical waste disposal and equipment for 1,300 vaccination teams.
Although the current outbreak is a long way from the 2010 epidemic, when more than 10,000 people died and 800,000 became ill, the increase in violence the Caribbean nation is experiencing is one of the biggest challenges for authorities.
Most cases are concentrated in the capital, in neighborhoods occupied by armed gangs whose clashes are responsible for hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of forced evictions.
Cholera first emerged in Haiti in October and has infected 1,291 people to date, while 15,400 are suspected to be carriers of the disease, which causes severe diarrhea, vomiting and dehydration.
The health authorities’ report also shows that 13.09 people were hospitalized in health centers set up for this purpose and a total of 305 died as a result of the disease, 103 of them in the communities.
jha/ane