Its sad that another disaster is being reported from Haiti. These people have been through some much the past few years and I only wish nature would give them a break. The next lethal force spreading havoc across this island nation is its outbreak of cholera. This bacterial illness is contracted by drinking tainted water and can sometimes be very mild and non-threatening, but occasionally it can cause excessive diarrhea and vomiting. This outburst of fluids causes dehydration in its victims and can sometimes be deadly. This epidemic has been blamed for over 1,000 deaths already and is continuing to spread. An outbreak like this kind in a more developed nation like the USA or Japan would be very mild, but in a nation like Haiti it can prove to be devastating. Because the country has been ravaged by its January earthquake, many water-treatment plants have been destroyed, which help to decontaminate water. Now more citizens are being exposed to horrid drinking water that is unsafe and carries cholera. Even before the earthquake hit, only twelve percent of the country was receiving treated water. It seems like the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere will never get a chance to recuperate from its last disaster. Maybe this will be the last horrific thing to affect the island, but we can only hope.
This picture shows where the outbreak is occurring within Haiti:
No comments:
Post a Comment