Haiti: Cholera figures (30 April 2017)

In April, 1,074 suspected cases of cholera were recorded in the country. This constitutes an encouraging low transmission period towards the elimination of the disease. This development was made possible by the strengthening of epidemiological surveillance, faster and more coordinated investigations of outbreaks of watery diarrhea, resource support and training of staff, including the staff of the national laboratory, maintenance of the 88 rapid response teams in support of the Mobile Teams of the Ministry of Health, as well as improving the quality of care and better compliance with the rules of hygiene in the CTDA1.

The attention of the actors in the fight against cholera is now focused on the departments that accumulate the most risk factors (high population density, large inter-city movements, presence of large markets), hence generating persistence of the disease week after week: West, Center and Artibonite. The observed incidence, lower compared to pre vious years, during this month should be maintained and improved to further reduce the risk of a national epidemic resurgence in August and the long rainy season. In the meantime, all localized outbreaks should be immediately investigated, laboratory-confirmed, and monitored within one week with a massive community response and effective management