OUTBREAK

Haiti Braces for More Cholera

After Hurricane Tomas.

Haiti is preparing to deal with a renewed cholera outbreak after it was hit by Hurricane Tomas over the weekend. The official death toll currently stands at 544, with over 8,000 confirmed cases, and is expected to rise further as the heavy rain caused latrines and septic tanks to overflow and possibly contaminate the drinking-water supplies. Until now, the epidemic had been largely contained in the Artibonite and Central Plateau regions. But on Monday, doctors confirmed the first case to originate and develop entirely in the capital of Port-au-Prince in a 3-year-old boy. The slums that house most of the city’s residents are especially at risk. "The quick solution is management," said Haiti’s environment minister. "Management meaning that you have a structure in place, but the structure was not conceived with the slums in mind."