As of Oct. 31, MSF teams have treated close to 3,600 people in Haiti who have presented to medical facilities with acute or severe cases of diarrhea, symptoms consistent with possible cholera infection.

MSF teams are currently supporting two Haitian Ministry of Health hospitals in the Artibonite region, where the cholera outbreak originated. At St. Nicholas Hospital in St. Marc, 170 people are on average admitted daily. Further south, in Petite-Rivière, approximately 150 people are admitted per day in the hospital there.

At MSF’s own five facilities in the capital, Port-au-Prince, teams are prepared to treat people presenting with cholera-like symptoms, with more than 300 beds already set aside for treatment in cholera treatment centres. Up to 800 beds will be available soon, should the outbreak spread.  A few dozen people suffering from severe diarrhea have been treated over the last days at MSF facilities in the city. A 20-bed cholera treatment centre has also been set up in Léogâne, where MSF already runs a hospital.

“Critical to the effective treatment of cholera is having cholera treatment centres, where patients can be isolated,” says Jean Pletinckx, MSF emergency coordinator in Haiti.  “Cholera is a highly treatable and preventable disease, especially once symptomatic patients are treated in a controlled environment like a cholera treatment centre. The presence of treatment centres in cholera-affected areas can relieve pressure on local hospitals and health structures, greatly reducing the risk of infection among pre-existing inpatients and the wider community.”

MSF activities are expanding in the north of the country. MSF is preparing a 30-bed cholera treatment centre in Gonaives. Elsewhere in the north, assessments are being carried out in Port de Paix, Pont Sondé, Dessalines, Villard, La Chapelle and Lester to determine if treatment interventions are necessary. Other assessments are being conducted south and east of St. Marc, in Archaie, Cabaret and Verrettes. In Montrouis, MSF has provided treatment materials, including cholera beds, to the health centre there. Additional explorations are planned for Gros-Morne, Bassin Bleu, and Saint Michel de L’attalaye.

In all the areas where MSF is working, teams are conducting community outreach to advise residents on how to prevent cholera infection and how it can be easily treated.

“While cholera and cholera-like symptoms can present very quickly and become life-threatening, unnecessary deaths can easily be averted with swift access to properly equipped and staffed facilities in close proximity to outbreak areas,” says Dr. David Olson, MSF medical adviser and cholera specialist in Haiti.

MSF currently has close to 60 international staff and more than 500 national staff devoted to its various cholera interventions. Additional staff is expected. Two cargo planes bearing 150 tonnes of medical supplies for cholera treatment have arrived, the latest plane arriving Oct. 30.

MSF has extensive experience intervening in cholera outbreaks in varied locations throughout the world, treating 329,000 people between 2006 and 2009. In the last year, MSF has carried out cholera interventions in Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria, Papua New Guinea and Zambia.

 

MSF activities in Haiti

While cholera intervention activities continue, all other MSF operations in Haiti, including postoperative care, maternal care, secondary care, surgery and mental health programs continue without interruption.

MSF has more than 3,000 Haitian and international medical and non-medical staff providing assistance in the country. They run seven private, free of charge, secondary-level care hospitals and support two Ministry of Health structures in Port-au-Prince, accounting for nearly 1,000 hospital beds in the capital city. These facilities provide emergency, trauma, obstetrical, pediatric, maternal, and orthopedic care services. Mental health care and treatment and counselling for survivors of sexual violence are also provided by MSF.

Outside the capital, MSF supports Ministry of Health hospitals in the cities of Leogane and Jacmel with nearly 200 beds of patient capacity. MSF opened a private 120-bed container hospital in Leogane in October.

Between Jan. 12 to Sept. 30, MSF treated more than 339,000 people, performed more than 15,700 surgeries; and delivered more than 9,900 babies. MSF also provides primary medical care and relief supplies to displaced persons living in various camps in Port-au-Prince through mobile and fixed clinics, and is carrying out water-and-sanitation services to displaced persons in the Cité Soleil slum.

Related News:

 84,500 Haitians treated in wake of cholera epidemic - 03.01.2011 15:13

 Cholera emergency far from over - 24.12.2010 09:47

 MSF extends cholera treatment in north and south  - 15.12.2010 11:11

 Treating pregnant women who have cholera - 14.12.2010 10:26

 Cholera still worrying in rural areas - 10.12.2010 10:20

 Nurse recounts sense of urgency in cholera work - 03.12.2010 11:22

 MSF calls on all actors to step up cholera response - 19.11.2010 11:30

 Critical cholera prevention activities far below needs - 17.11.2010 11:08

 MSF steps up cholera response in Port-au-Prince - 13.11.2010 15:19

 Hospitals in Port-au-Prince are overflowing with patients - 12.11.2010 11:05

 MSF scales up operations in the north - 09.11.2010 13:00

 Working to prevent epidemic's spread - 08.11.2010 12:31

 Continuing cholera treatment in Petite Rivière - 29.10.2010 12:08

 Demonstration disrupts cholera response - 27.10.2010 09:58

 900 treated in 2 days in cholera outbreak - 26.10.2010 17:26

 MSF treating cholera patients - 25.10.2010 10:13

 MSF intervening in cholera-affected area - 22.10.2010 11:20