A man, identified as Willfrid Flerenvil (refugee, living in camp located on the Champs de Mars), was found dead in a mobile toilet of the company Jedco, Saturday. A probable victim of the cholera according to the first observations.

MINUSTAH has quickly reached the scene and deployed a security cordon preventing access to portable toilets in this section of the camp.

This discovery comes one day after the United Nations have estimated that the epidemic of cholera could contaminate up to 200,000 Haitians, and that the cholera can spread throughout the country, whose 6 departments out of 10 are already affected. The last official assessment, reported 14.642 hospitalization and 917 deaths since the epidemic began.

A crowd of onlookers was held remotely of the Minustah soldiers, torn between curiosity and fear. One refugee said that in the camp, people are afraid for their lives "What has happened can happen to anyone [...] we don't have training on how to approach a cholera victim" recalling that many children live in and around the camp.

All causes of spread of the disease are present, overcrowded camps, lack of drinking water, improper disposal of human waste and contamination of food before (trade), during or after their preparations. Under such conditions, the camp population is particularly vulnerable.

The national laboratory must still confirm, if it is or not the cholera. If the case is confirmed, this would be the first on the Champs de Mars. The consequences, in one of the most populous camp in Port-au-Prince, are unimaginable, but would undoubtedly dramatic.

See also:

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1662-haiti-epidemic-last-assessment14642-cases-and-917-deaths.html

BF/ HaitiLibre