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This Article is From Oct 31, 2010

Haiti Cholera epidemic averted?

Haiti Cholera epidemic averted?
Port-au-Prince: As doctors in Haiti wait to see if a major cholera epidemic has been averted, aid workers in Port-au-Prince were working on Friday to prepare for the eventuality that it hasn't.

As of Friday morning, more than 4,700 people had been hospitalised and at least 330 people had died, according to the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs.

So far few cases have been reported in the sprawling camps around the capital Port au Prince, where an estimated million people have been living since an earthquake levelled their homes in January this year.

Doctors, aid workers and health officials however remain fearful that the number of cases could rise exponentially if the disease spreads to the crowded tent cities.

At the 'La Piste' camp, home to 50-thousand Haitians since the quake, Red Cross workers are hurriedly putting up a medical observation centre to monitor and isolate suspected cases.

Red Cross worker Samantha Georges said, in the event of an outbreak, the centre would enable workers to "activate a full on cholera treatment centre for at least 400 people."

Meanwhile more basic steps are also being taken.

Posters push the hygiene message, teaching camp residents the benefits of basic cleanliness.

"Wash your hands with soap', urges one.

"They are very simple messages, but they literally save lives," said Georges.

Some 50 volunteers also tour the camp to spread the message of hygiene and also look for suspected cases.

A small vehicle, wired up with microphones, loudspeakers and music, also patrols the camp to spread the hygiene message.

"We've discovered that a really great way of getting messages across to people is through entertainment, so through songs, through dance,"Georges said. "We have a truck that goes around with clowns on top, trying to engage people, trying to attract them."

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