Samaritan’s Purse is responding as a fast-moving cholera outbreak threatens the health of vulnerable earthquake survivors in Haiti.

Two mobile medical teams are in the affected area and have begun treating patients at a mobile medical clinic. A water and sanitation team is providing education and training to prevent the spread of the disease, using tents, tarps, clean water, purification tablets, and oral rehydration salts.

The teams are assessing the rapidly spreading outbreak in the rural central valley of Artibonite, an area where thousands of quake victims have migrated and settled in makeshift tarp communities.

“The Samaritan’s Purse Haiti team of experts in the cholera-affected region will provide immediate assessments, and will evaluate appropriate next steps to best help the victims of this outbreak,” said Matt Ellingson, country director for Samaritan’s Purse Haiti.

The lower Artibonite region is located approximately 100 km north of Port-au-Prince, the area most affected by the January 12th earthquake that killed over 300,000 individuals.

Recent reports from the country's health ministry have recorded at least 135 deaths and more than 1,500 infected with the disease. Aid groups are rushing in much-needed supplies and medications to treat victims of the outbreak. There is increasing concern among humanitarian agencies that the disease will spread rapidly due to the unsanitary conditions in IDP camps throughout the country.

Cholera is an intestinal infection contracted by ingesting contaminated water or food, and causes severe vomiting and diarrhea. The disease is easily treatable by rehydration and antibiotics, but has a short incubation period and is fatal if not treated in time. The outbreak of the disease is being preliminarily attributed to contaminated water from the Artibonite River, where thousands of Haitians retrieve water daily for bathing and cooking.

Samaritan's Purse , Responding to Cholera Outbreak in Haiti

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