In an article provided by All Headline News on the 8th Tom Ramstack reports the condition of three patients in New York that were treated for Cholera. The people who were unfortunate enough to contract Cholera have been treated and have recovered. The origin is most definitely from Haiti. The three from New York had recently attended a wedding in the Dominican Republic which borders Haiti. The travelers must have consumed contaminated food or water to come down with the illness. While these people have been treated it is worrying that Cholera is moving out of Haitian borders with travelers. Dr. Sharon Balter, a medical epidemiologist for the New York Department of Health and Mental Hygiene suspects that more cases will occur with travel to and from the country. The article can be read at: http://www.allheadlinenews.com/briefs/articles/9003370?Cholera%20in%20New%20York%20traced%20to%20Haitian%20epidemic#ixzz1DQzM9tpb
Similar to the Black Death and Small Pox, Cholera was in this case spread by travel. While Cholera is treatable in a country like the US other countries like the Dominican Republic and Cuba that are more likely to receive Cholera infected travelers may eventually not have enough resources to treat so many people. Since Cholera spreads like wild fire in areas with little sanitation and can kill without treatment. The prospect of Cholera spreading beyond Haitian borders is worrying because it really means that little is being done to combat Cholera in Haiti. If extensive work was being done to prevent the spread of and treat Cholera it would be a more contained incident. Since the travelers from New York did not even visit Haiti, only the Dominican Republic it is worrying that Cholera has already spread into another country. While efforts should be spent on treating those infected with Cholera at this time more should be spent on preventing it. Better to use preventative medicine than wait until more people get sick.
I agree, it is very scary that Cholera is sperading beyond Haiti into neighboring nations that are not able to treat it. The United States is able to treat Cholera patients, but Haiti's neighbors are poorer countires with less sophisticated sanitation and are much more likely, since Cholera is spreading, to contract the disease and experience many deaths since they are not able to treat it effectively. I also agree with your point that there should be more effort placed on treatment of Cholera than on prevention, since it is clear that is has begun to spread and if poorer nations do not have proper treatment, many more deaths will occur. If treatment is improved, there will be a better survival rate in poorer countries and it could be less scary that Cholera has begun to spread.
ReplyDeleteIt's very concerning that United States citizens are still being infected with Cholera in 2011. With the high levels of sanitation and public health knowledge during these times, this wouldn’t be expected. The fact that the travelers had been in Dominican Republic should be worrying to those who take vacations to tropical islands, like my family and I. After hearing about this, extreme caution ought to be taken when drinking water outside of the country and eating certain foods. Fortunately, unlike in third-world countries, Cholera is curable in the United States. It seems like countries like Haiti will be suffering from this epidemic for a while longer because of the poor conditions the people live in.
ReplyDeleteIt’s scary to think that Cholera has spread from Haiti to other countries and even been brought back to the United States. We know the dangers of Cholera from studying in class. It spreads quickly and thrives in poor sanitized areas. It hard to fathom what might happen to Haiti's neighboring states if the outbreak of Cholera was to get as bad as it is in Haiti. Hopefully the United States along with other nations will continue to send supplies to aid the recovery from this horrible disease.
ReplyDeleteIt's almost hard to believe that a disease like Cholera, that is normally found in poorer countries, could be found in some place like the United States. It is especially scary to think that it is happening so close to Massachusetts, since New York really isn't that far away. However, there is hope, considering that in poorer countries like Haiti, they don't have the money to try and treat all of the patients that are infected with Cholera, but in a country like the United States, there is enough money to treat those who get it.
ReplyDeleteThis post really stood out to me because it clearly shows how our country is so far ahead of poor countries like Haiti medically. Three Americans travel to a poor country, contract a disease so commonly found there, and are immediately treated and cured. But in Haiti, people die from Cholera daily because of a lack of medical care. It doesn't seem fair that enough isn't being done to help out sick Haitian patients when there is available treatment for the disease.
ReplyDeleteWow, it's easy to believe that colera is prominant in a place like Haiti, but when it moves to New York that's scary. It's a very good point that we should be concerned with people bringing Cholera back from having travled to places where there was an outbreak. Luckily, we have proper sewage systems and plumbing so the Cholera would not spread into our tap water, but travelers to Haiti will have to use catuion in the future.
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