Amid Cholera Outbreak in Haiti, Fear and Misery

There is an epidemic of cholera in Haiti.

In Haiti, scores of children and adults are doubled over or stretched out on every available surface, racked by convulsive stomach disorder or limp with dehydration. Buckets sit by their sides, intravenous solutions drip into their arms. Life hangs in the balance, yet there is a sober, almost eerie calm.

However, indeed, treatment is rescuing more than 90 percent of those who get to a clinic, and that is why health officials concentrated Monday on bolstering local hospitals and erecting cholera centers throughout the Artibonite region. This is, for the moment, the area of high infection where the bacteria must be aggressively attacked before it spreads. 

 International health officials stressed that the pattern of the outbreak was almost impossible to predict. But Monday was a relatively good day: only six cholera deaths were registered in a 24-hour period. More than 200 died of the acute bacterial infection in the epidemic’s first few days. The known death toll stands at 259, with more than 3,000 cases, all but 450 or so in the Artibonite area.

Many people are suffering from cholera by drinking dirty water. For example, Herese Vanal, a cholera patient, had probably been infected by drinking from the Artibonite River, which is the water supply for their community and is now believed to be contaminated by cholera. People there stopped drinking that as soon as people started dying.

Yesterday, I had a class about public hygiene and learned about infectious disease, so I was interested in this article. Cholera is a disease due to vibrio cholerae. When you drink dirty drink, you will suffer from it. It is prevalent in Southeast Asia mainly. In Japan, almost all cholera patients get the virus when they travel foreign country. But, antibiotic is available for the disease. Its symptoms are mainly diarrhea and dehydration.

Now Japan is suffering from depression and the other countries like China becomes rich, so some people Japan is not good today. However, when I read this article, I strongly felt that Japan is still very happy country. We Japanese all have many thing including clean clothes, notebooks, and pencils. We can also drink clean water and eat safe food. When we catch a cold, we can see a doctor at once. It is no wonder that Japanese people live “normal” life.

However, people in Haiti can not live in clean environment. If waterworks properly works, there is little infectious disease like cholera. Also, if there is a good education system, they will have knowledge to cope with disease. This is because I have heard that people who are not educated do not know how to prevent disease.

 I think that developed countries like Japan should help developing countries aggressively. With the medical technique of Japan, many people suffering from infectious disease can be helped. It is duty for advanced countries.

Deborah Sontag. “Amid Cholera Outbreak in Haiti, Fear and Misery”

New York Times 25 Oct.2010 : n.pag. 27 Oct. 2010 .