Cholera Disease In Haiti: A Case Study

Outbreaks of cholera were not isolated to the European and Asian continents, as several major cases within the United States have been recorded back to colonial times. As trade increased with the old world, infected sailors bringing the disease to major port cities, spreading it even further as products became distributed across the nation. Famously documented as one of the most vital turning points for public health medicine within the US, the city of Chicago mirrored what was unfolding in the 1854 London outbreak. Congruent to Snow’s findings, entire families suddenly became severely ill and dying off. As an effort to combat the pestilence, Ellis Chesbrough, an already established railroad engineer, designed a series of sewer systems modeled

1. Models are analogies that allow us to clarify hypotheses—proposed explanation of relationships between. What roles do models play in testing hypotheses?

Compounding this lack of care, Haitians also lack clean drinking water and proper sanitation systems. Less than half the population has access to clean drinking water, a rate that is only surpassed by civil war-torn African nations. Even worse, half the population of Haiti can be categorized as “food insecure,” and this malnutrition has created a generation where half of all Haitian children are undersized (IFRC, 2010). In addition, this poor sanitation and hygiene, coupled with inadequate nutrition, have contributed to exceptionally high levels of individuals with chronic, yet often at best ill-treated, conditions.

So many children in Haiti suffer from malnutrition and our Feeding Programs are an outreach to many villages, schools, missionary and orphanages here in Haiti. Many of Haiti's poorest areas are in what we call the "regions beyond," and are accessible only by donkey or on foot, and it is where hundreds of children are dying of malnutrition. We are expanding our outreach to other locations because of the famine, but we need your help. Read Sherry’s Journal today to see how you can help us, help

water diseases alone account for more than three million deaths each year. We help Africa by

Almost 100 countries worldwide are still affected by cholera and it’s virtually impossible to completely prevent an outbreak. If left alone, this rapidly infectious disease can cause many fatalities. However, improved methods for surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment, paired with higher standards of sanitation and personal

Two out of every five people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack safe water. A baby there is 500 times more likely to die from water-related illness than one from the United States. This is a serious ongoing issue that requires the rest of the world to take action. Water spreads diseases easily if the necessary precautions are not taken. Many developing African countries don’t have sewage treatment, or the people don’t have methods to filter and disinfect. Once a person is sick either there is no way to cure them, or medical care is too expensive, so they are left untreated with a high risk of death. Although many believe that the fight for sanitary water in Africa is insurmountable, people in these developing countries can overcome their challenge to access clean water and avoid water-borne diseases through proper sewage treatment facilities, universal water filtration and medical care.

Out of all nations that publish water sanitation statistics, Haiti is the only country in which there are more individuals today without clean water than there were over twenty years ago (Gelting, Bliss, Patrick, Lockhart, & Handzel, 2013, p. 665). This is largely due to the water crisis occurring in Haiti over the last century. Haiti’s struggles can be derived from the nation’s inability to withstand and recover from natural disasters, economic instability, societal wealth discrepancy, and a cholera outbreak. These differing facets can all be analyzed through the natural, social, and political perspectives in order to demonstrate the severity of the Haitian water crisis, the failure of current attempts at resolution, and the need for further

The cholera outbreak in Haiti in the late part of 2010 raised a lot of question within the community and abroad. As the country tried to recover from the horrible devastation of the earthquake. Speculation has arose among many human right organizations within Haiti and internationally that the United Nation (UN) have accidental or purposeful dumped waste in the population’s drinking water. In a short period of time, many were infected or have died from the cholera infection. The ethical dilemma comes from the vulnerability of the Haitian population failed infrastructure and the missed steps in protocol by the UN. While the core value of the UN missions, or any other peace keeping mission to say the least, is to “do not harm”, nonetheless harm

As for cholera epidemic that cause environmental factors that promote the growth of bacterial accumulation and plagued humanity. Its an acute diarrheal infection caused by bacterium Vibrio cholera, which provokes disease in humans. “Vibrio cholera is a slightly curved gram negative rod with single polar flagellum. Cholera bacilli grows in the small intestine and produce an exotoxin, cholera toxin that cause hosts cells to secrete water and electrolytes, as well as potassium” [16]. It results in watery diarrhea and vomiting, if not treated it can cause a massive lost in bodily fluids that will cause dehydration, hypovolemic shock and death. As well as, rapid heart rate, loss of skin elasticity, dry mucous membranes, low blood pressure, thirst

Cholera is defined by The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) as a bacterial disease that can cause diarrhea and dehydration. This is spread through eating/drinking contaminated food and/or water. Untreated sewage water and someone who defecated in open water are the main causes for this outbreak. Cholera can kill within hours if left untreated. Several treatments have been given to prevent this, while many people were able to battle this on time, several were not as lucky. Haiti’s largest river, the Artibonite became contaminated by wastes and other harmful bacteria from Nepalese soldiers stationed at the rivers upper valley. These soldiers were stationed there by the United Nations. The problem, is with this being Haiti’s largest river, many of its population (about 50-80 thousand to be exact) use this particular water to drink, bathe and wash clothes. This is where the cholera strain was found. The cholera outbreak in Haiti became a pandemic and a major public health issue. A pandemic is defined by Merriam-Webster as an outbreak of a disease that occurs over a wide geographic area and effects an exceptionally high proportion of the population. Mother Nature has her own schedule. Avalanches,

As a public healthcare professional called in to help the situation in Haiti, first I would assess the amount of damage done by the hurricane, and determine what resources and how much of these resources we will need. My next step would be to get other organizations involved like FEMA, American Red Cross, and other volunteer agencies to help with whatever we will need to get Haiti back on track. One of the most important things for humans is clean water, lack of clean water will increase disease and with cholera already being a issue in Haiti, I would make sure to ship enough clean water to supply the people of Haiti; it would need to be enough to sustain them until we can offer a better means of access to clean water. It was said that their

Some of the measures that the government has encouraged to help curb the problem is boiling of water. This is the cheapest option since the government cannot afford offering iodine tablets and the water filters. The Uganda Red Cross Society has also done its best during every outbreak of cholera like the severe 2006 incidence where more than 300,000 people within the capital city of Kampala were affected directly by the cholera pandemic (Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, 2008). However, this is treatment and not a preventive measure. Even so, this cheapest option

The most common infectious diseases contributing to mortality in Haiti include HIV/AIDS, Pneumonia, Meningitis, water and foodborne illnesses and Tuberculosis (WHO, 2006). Additionally, Dengue fever, Malaria and Anthrax have also contributed to mortality and are quite common in Haiti. In Haiti, Malaria is an indigenous disease. Moreover, cholera is another bacterial disease that took the lives of many after the earthquake. The Haiti cholera outbreak was the worst epidemic in the nation. The cholera epidemic has caused 9,000 deaths and affected more than 735,000 people since October 2010 when the outbreak began in the aftermath of the earthquake (Haiti, 2015).

The disease, cholera, is an infection of the intestines, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. As stated in Microbes and Infections of the Gut, the bacterium is “a Gram-negative, comma- shaped, highly motile organism with a single terminal flagellum” (105). Cholera is characterized by the most significant symptom that presents with the disease, diarrhea, and victims can lose up to twenty liters of body fluids in a day. Cholera can be a serious disease, due to the serious dehydration that can occur, but it is only fatal if treatment is not administered as soon as possible. This research paper includes information on the causes of cholera, symptoms, ways of treatment, studies of treatments, complications that may occur, the