10/21/2010 7:23 PM ET
(RTTNews) - Health officials in Haiti are struggling to contain an outbreak of severe diarrhea that has already left dozens of people dead and hundreds of others in need of urgent medical attention in the impoverished country's rural central regions.
Haitian officials said the diarrhea outbreak has killed more than 50 people, with more than 1,500 others infected with the disease admitted to hospitals for treatment. All of those infected are reportedly suffering acute fever, vomiting and diarrhea.
Though some unconfirmed reports quoting unnamed sources suggested that the outbreak was cholera, the Haitian government is yet to confirm their claim. The final results of the tests conducted are expected later on Thursday.
The worst affected by the diarrhea outbreak is Haiti's rural Artibonite region. Some of the patients said they got infected after drinking water from a public canal, while others said they drank only purified water.
The deadly diarrhea outbreak comes at a time when international efforts are progressing to rebuild the impoverished country after the devastating January 12 earthquake that killed 217,000 people and caused damages estimated between $8 billion and $14 billion.
Official estimates indicate the quake left at least 1.5 million people homeless across Haiti, mostly in the capital Port-au-Prince. An estimated half-a-million homeless currently live outside in improvised camps in the capital city.
International donors have since pledged $9.9 billion in funding over the next three years and beyond for the reconstruction of earthquake-devastated Haiti, which is the poorest nation in the Western Hemisphere.
by RTT Staff Writer
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