Port-au-Prince, Oct 19 (Prensa Latina) The second day of vaccination against cholera ended today in Haiti, aimed at children from one to five years old, one of the most affected by the recent epidemic of the disease.
Authorities received 1.17 million doses of the drug Euvichol last week and are expecting another 500,000 to try to stop the spread of the disease, which has so far been responsible for 305 deaths.
The ongoing campaign is expected to be extended until next Thursday and then on December 27 and 28, mainly in the most compromised cities of Port-au-Prince 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% of the population will receive the drug that immunizes for six months after its first application and for two full years with the full program.
The United Nations Children’s Fund announced this Monday that in addition to vaccines, it collaborates with the authorities in the management of biomedical waste, as well as devices for 1,300 immunization teams.
While the current outbreak is still a far cry from the 2010 outbreak, when more than 10,000 people died and 800,000 fell ill, the increase in violence the Caribbean nation is experiencing is a major challenge for the authorities.
The greatest number of cases is concentrated in the capital, in neighborhoods occupied by armed gangs and whose clashes are responsible for hundreds of deaths and tens of thousands of forced displacements.
Cholera made its debut in Haiti in October and has so far infected 1,291 people, while 15,400 are suspected of being carriers of the disease which causes severe diarrhoea, vomiting and dehydration.
The health authorities’ report also indicates that 13.09 people were admitted to specially established health centers and a total of 305 died of the disease, 103 of them in the communities.
