67°
STAMFORD, Conn. With the cholera epidemic in Haiti on the rise with the start of the rainy season, Stamford-based AmeriCares is rushing more than 100,000 liters of IV solution to the country to begin treating patients, a release said.
Since the beginning of March, there have been 77 reported cases of the disease and about 7,000 deaths since the outbreak started in October 2010, the release said
Due to the rapid spread rate of the disease and rural condition of the country,cholera is difficult to control, the release said. In the most severe cases, people can die within 10 to 12 hours without treatment, the release said.
This emergency shipment will allow doctors and nurses to begin infusing patients with lifesaving IV fluids the moment they arrive. With proper treatment we can get fatality rates below one percent, AmeriCares Medical Director Dr. Frank Bia, an infectious disease expert, said in the release.
Since the start of the epidemic in Haiti, AmeriCares has delivered 230,000 cholera treatments to 189 different treatment centers, the release said.
Click here to follow Daily Voice Stamford and receive free news updates.
