A new cholera infection has been detected in Haiti, authorities announced on Sunday, nearly three years after the end of the epidemic that killed 10,000 people in this impoverished Caribbean nation.
The confirmed case was detected in the capital Port-au-Prince, while there are several other suspected cases in the Cidade do Sol neighborhood, the country’s Ministry of Health said in a statement.
At a press conference on Sunday, Health Minister Laure Adrien said that at least seven deaths were suspected in total, but that authorities were trying to confirm the exact number.
“According to the information we have, the death toll is around 7 to 8,” Adrien said, adding that authorities are struggling to get information from hospitals.
“There was a death today.”
The ministry added that measures were taken to limit the spread of the virus, including the investigation of other possible positive cases, while it started a campaign in the country to increase the population’s concern about hygiene.
According to the government, since last month, gangs have been blocking the country’s main fuel port in protest against the announcement of a fuel price increase. Many hospitals have closed or reduced operations due to lack of fuel for power generators. Basic transit is now impossible for most citizens.
Caribbean Bottling, a major supplier of bottled water, said on Sunday it could no longer continue producing and distributing water because it ran out of diesel fuel, which is critical to its supply chain.
The disease is normally transmitted through water contaminated with the faeces of a sick person, which means that clean water is critical to preventing its spread.
The last positive case of cholera in Haiti was detected in 2019, and in February 2022, the Ministry of Health held a ceremony to mark the official elimination of the disease.
Introduced by the United Nations team after the devastating 2010 earthquake, cholera killed an estimated 10,000 people.
Only in August 2016 did the UN officially recognize its role in the beginning of the epidemic.
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