Death toll in Haiti cholera outbreak rises to 292 (2nd Roundup)

Oct 28, 2010, 1:35 GMT

Washington/Port-au-Prince, Haiti - The death toll in Haiti's cholera outbreak has climbed to 292, the Pan American Health Organization said Wednesday in Washington, citing figures from the Haitian health ministry.

Jon Andrus, PAHO's deputy director, said there were 4,147 confirmed cases and warned that there were reports of suspected cases in the north, northeast and northwest of the country.

Andrus stressed, however, that the outbreak did not make it necessary to postpone the presidential election scheduled for November 28 in the earthquake-shattered Caribbean country.

The election, he said, can take place without risk of furthering the spread of the disease. According to Andrus, crowded rallies do not thwart efforts to fight cholera, and in fact offer a great chance to promote public health measures among Haitians.

Angry Haitians on Wednesday blocked public health experts from setting up a cholera treatment centre in the city of Saint-Marc, charging that it would spread the infection in Haiti's central region.

The mob set fire to several tents, said aid group Doctors Without Borders (MSF), which had nearly finished setting up a 400-bed treatment centre when the facility was attacked late Tuesday.

No one was injured in the attack, MSF said. The Haitian health ministry has recommended building the treatment centre at a different location.

PAHO has warned that the outbreak is likely to spread across Haiti and into neighbouring Dominican Republic, prompting Santo Domingo to close most of its border on Tuesday.

The MSF treatment centre was intended to take in cholera patients from Haiti's central Artibonite region, who are now being treated at the overcrowded hospital in Saint-Marc. The area has been the epicentre of the outbreak.

MSF tried to reassure local residents that the location of the centre did not pose a risk to the population.

'In fact, a cholera treatment centre in a region of infection makes possible rapid treatment and saves lives in critical cases,' MSF said.

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