Cholera outbreak in Haiti most likely caused by sewage spill from a Nepalese peacebase
source: http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/10/2010102841412141967.html
http://english.aljazeera.net/news/africa/2010/10/2010102841412141967....
...The confirmation of the death toll came amid a UN investigation into samples of a suspected sewage spill leaking behind a Nepalese peacekeeping base in Haiti towards an infected river system.UN officials appeared to take away samples from the site on Wednesday, following accusations that the spill could be the source of the cholera outbreak,
Vincenzo Pugliese, a mission spokesman, confirmed on Wednesday that the UN team was testing for cholera - the first public acknowledgement that the 12,000-member force is directly investigating allegations its base played a role in the outbreak, the Associated Press news agency reported.
Al Jazeera's Sebastian Walker, reporting from Port-au-Prince said the UN is "categorically denying" that peacekeepers were the cause of the outbreak.
"But you know, that river, from that base, flows into the town of Mirebalais," he said.
"In Mirebalais there have been many cases of cholera. There's 50 at the local prison there, there have been cases throughout that department - that's the central department. That river then runs on into the Urbanite, which is the heart of where the cholera has been raging over the past few days."
Suspected Nepal connections
The Nepalese mission strongly denies its base was a cause of the infection.
Pugliese said civilian engineers collected samples from the base on Friday which tested negative for cholera and the mission's military force commander ordered the additional tests to confirm. He said no members of the Nepalese battalion have the disease.
But local politicians, including a powerful senator and the mayor of Mirebalais, are pointing the finger at the Nepalese peacekeeping base, which is perched above a source of the Meille River, a tributary to the Artibonite River on Haiti's central plateau.
Cholera is endemic to Nepal, which suffered outbreaks this summer. A recent article in the Japanese Journal of Infectious Diseases about outbreaks in 2008-09 said the strain found by researchers was "Vibrio cholerae O1 Ogawa biotype El Tor", the same strain found in Haiti.
More in the link.
Of course we had to expect something like this. An explosion of cholera doesn't just HAPPEN, there has to be some cause.
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Earthship_Biotecture
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http://www.earthship.com/haiti
Michael Reynolds describes the contained sewage treatment system and the roof insulation made out of garbage harvested from the streets of Port-au-Prince. This system is inexpensive and easy to build all over the city. This can solve the cholera issue in Haiti and around the world. This contained sewage treatment system alone can spread very quickly, like a virus. Image if we are in Port Au Prince for five weeks building contained sewage treatment systems all over the city. Image how many people would learn this, and teach others and build others...
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YFP4Q0UDZpU - 2 years ago
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Earthship_Biotecture
