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Haiti Zika Impact

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The Geographical Impact of The Zika and Cholera viruses in Haiti
Over the last five years, there has been a series of dangerous diseases that have struck the world. These diseases, namely Cholera, Ebola, and Zika, have caused several damage to many of the countries in Latin America and the Caribbean (The Journal of Policy Innovations, 2016). In late February of this year, a clear increase and acceleration in the number of cases of Zika has been reported by Haiti’s Ministry of Public Health. According to the International Catholic News Weekly newspaper, the amount of confirmed cases of the virus worsened from 96 to 329 in less than three weeks. The disease is said to have affected 770,000 people and killed more than 9,200 Haitians (International …show more content…

Dianne Jean-Francois, a physician of the Catholic Medical Mission Board, stated on March 23, 2016 that there will be an increase of local disinfection efforts to reduce the mosquito population, but that preventing the spread of the disease will be very difficult since the number of people in poor living conditions and the degree of stagnant water everywhere is the ideal place for the mosquito to breed (The International Catholic News, 2016). As a result, the C.D.C. is currently issuing new guidelines suggesting that pregnant women should avoid contact with semen from men who have recently returned from Haiti. Men coming from Haiti should also consider using condoms. They are also advertising and promoting that Haiti along with two dozen other destinations, mostly in the Caribbean, Central America, and South America should be avoided (Center for Disease Control and Prevention, 2016). The officials did not provide guidance on how long to do so. The publicity of such danger will eventually decrease economy, as there will be a drop in the level of tourism in Haiti and the other countries infected with the Zika virus because people will not want to visit due to their fear of getting the …show more content…

on Haiti Cholera Outbreak, the writer Rick Gladstone talks about the recent discovery of how the disease emerged in Haiti. It is now believed that it is U.N. peacekeepers that brought cholera to Haiti during their deployment from Nepal, where cholera is a constant threat. Although cholera is endemic in Nepal, the peacekeepers were not screened for the disease before their departure (Gladstone, 2016). Once in Haiti, they constructed a campsite with poor sanitation that allowed human waste to spill from open pits and cracked pipes into nearby waterways. Soon after, the first cases of cholera appeared, “leading to an epidemic that has cost over 9,000 lives and sickened more than 750,000 people” (Gladstone, 2016). Surprisingly, after the discovery and the outing of such neglect, the U.N did not admit to it. “They repeatedly denied any connection between its people and the epidemic, but the organization's culpability was soon confirmed by a range of scientific studies, expert findings, and even a report commissioned by the secretary-general. Though the U.N. is clearly responsible in fact for the epidemic, it has never been found responsible in law.” (Gladstone,

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