One year after the first cases of cholera in Haiti, the U.N. deputy special envoy to Haiti, Dr. Paul Farmer declared "it's incredible [...] In 365 days, you go from no cases to the largest number in the world."

"It's going to be with us for a long time" added the Dr. Farmer while speaking of cholera, he also said that cholera is likely to become endemic in Haiti, which means it will become "native" to the country. Farmer attributes the spread of the disease to what he describes as Haiti's status as the "most water insecure" country in the world.

For Doctors Without Borders (MSF-Haiti) the time is still to the emergency, "the epidemic is not yet under control, the urgency is still there," said yesterday during a conference in Port-au Prince, Pascale Zintzen, assistant chief of MSF. For his part Romain Gitenet, MSF Chief of Mission in Haiti, recalls that "the storm is not over. It is necessary to be wary of this epidemic..."

In Haiti, according to the latest figures from the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) 465.293 cases, almost 5% of the population and 6.559 deaths, while in Bangladesh, a country hard hit by the disease, 100.000 to 300.000 people contract cholera each year.

A vaccine will be tested in Haiti

https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-4056-haiti-health-a-vaccine-will-be-tested-in-haiti.html

HL/ HaitiLibre