'UN forces took cholera to Haiti'

[ktlight]

FYI:


A US health center says it has found new evidence which “strongly suggests” that UN peacekeeping forces from Nepal brought a deadly cholera strain to Haiti after the 2010 earthquake.


The US Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) says that the cholera outbreak in quake-hit Haiti originated from the Nepalese forces based near the town of Mirebalais in Centre Department, approximately 60 kilometers (37 miles) northeast of the capital Port au Prince.

The Nepalese forces were deployed as a part of the UN peacekeeping mission after a devastating earthquake killed over 200,000 Haitian people and left more than one million homeless in January 2010.

"Our findings strongly suggest that contamination of the Artibonite (river) and one of its tributaries downstream from a military camp triggered the epidemic," Renaud Piarroux and colleagues wrote in the July issue of CDC's journal Emerging Infectious Diseases.

The cholera epidemic, which was discovered in October, spread through the waterways, killing more than 5,500 and sickening over 363,000.

According to the new report, the first hospitalized patients were members of a family in the village that hosted a camp for the UN Stabilization Mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH).

Health investigators found a pipe discharging refuse from the camp into a river that villagers living nearby used for cooking and drinking.

The outbreak was then spread to Mirebalais, where inhabitants drew water from the rivers because the water supply network was under repair.

The is "an exact correlation" in time and place between the deployment of the forces from Nepal and the beginning of the epidemic a few days later, CDC said.

The new report is the strongest argument yet claiming that newly come Nepalese peacekeepers "accidentally imported" cholera to the Caribbean country.

In May, a UN independent panel found that the cholera outbreak was caused by a South Asian strain imported by human activity but it did not mention a definite suspect.

Haiti is still dealing with a spike in the number of cholera cases brought on by several weeks of rainfall. The aid group Oxfam said earlier this month that its workers were treating more than 300 new cases a day.

The disease has spread to the neighboring Dominican Republic, where more than 36 deaths have been reported since November.

source
http://www.presstv.ir/detail/186908.html

[IndigoStar]

How A Pharmaceutical Giant Is Battling Malnutrition On The Ground In Haiti

All too often, corporate philanthropy involves dropping a wad of money on organizations that are doing work on an issue that the corporation "cares" about, and then saying goodbye. But sometimes, corporations actually bring their know-how and human capital to bear on a problem, in addition to just giving money. The global pharmaceutical company Abbott is taking the second path, focusing on long-lasting initiatives that can grow local economies in struggling areas. Case in point: Abbott's work to combat severe malnutrition in Haiti.

Abbott has long held an interest in the country, where it has offered up $48 million in grants and product donations over the years to deal with Haiti's health needs. About two years ago, the company sent a team of people to Haiti to check out Partners in Health's production facility for Nourimanba, a high-protein, high-calorie fortified peanut-based paste that is similar to Plumpy'nut (the latter product's patent isn't registered in Haiti). It needed work. Partners in Health's facility was partially outside, and the rest of the operation was located in a one-room building.

"We wanted to build a facility, and make a process that is appropriate for the Haitian context," says Kathy Pickus, VP of global citizenship and policy at Abbott. Unfortunately, Abbott's Haiti trip took place right before the 2010 earthquake, and so the company had to think about building the factory from scratch. The devastation was so bad, there were no longer even any roads going from the local peanut farms to the site of the future facility.

So Abbott and Partners in Health went to work, planning everything from the type of equipment that would be used (low-maintenance, of course) to a diagnostic process for Nourimanba that tests for local toxins. After Abbott employees noticed that Partners in Health workers were mixing vitamins with peanut paste, they suggested that they instead mix the vitamins with sugar to ensure a more equitable distribution of product. "We have a certain expertise as a business that these economies are hungry for," says Pickus.

The new Nourimanba facility is about to break ground in Cange, located in Haiti's central plateau region. Local workers are performing the construction, and when it is complete, the whole operation will be run by locals--including 60 employees to deal with production and hundreds of local farmers who will provide peanuts. Eventually, Haitians could use the facility to sell regular peanut butter to locals. Proceeds would go back into production and ensure that Partners In Health could continue giving away Nourimanba for free.

"We want to make sure that organizations have the tools to make a real change," says Pickus. If only every corporate philanthropy took such care with its projects.

http://www.fastcompany.com/1776161/how-abbott-is-battling-malnutrition-in-haiti

[IndigoStar]

Medical Student Helps Save Babies in Haiti

Dennrik Abrahan spent more than two months in Haiti this summer testing the skills he has learned as a medical student at the University of Central Florida.
He took medical histories and watched doctors treat rare illnesses.
“When you work with a patient in the field, you think, ‘Wow, I’ve learned a lot.’ The learning makes more sense,” Abrahan said.
But most importantly, Abrahan helped save lives.
He trained Haitian midwives and doctors in a procedure to help resuscitate babies born with breathing difficulties, giving them a better chance of survival. It’s a new technique developed by the American Academy of Pediatrics and the World Health Organization especially for rural communities where professional healthcare can be 50 miles away or farther.
In June, pediatrician and College of Medicine mentor Dr. Tom Lacy and a University of Florida medical student joined Abrahan in his effort.
“We strongly believe in sustainable healthcare,” said Lacy, who helped establish the non-profit Hands Up for Haiti. “All the doctor volunteers in our group treat, but we also educate because we want to help people take care of themselves.”
The infant mortality rate in Haiti is high – with 70 out of 1,000 babies dying compared to the U.S. rate of 16 out of 1,000.
Kits needed to resuscitate babies are expensive -- $220 each -- and they can’t be found in Haiti. So the Walt Disney Pavilion at Florida Hospital for Children donated money to Hands Up for Haiti, and volunteers bought kits. Thirteen Haitian midwives and doctors were trained and can go back to their villages and teach 10 more providers.
This was not the first trip for either student or mentor.
Now a second-year medical student in the College of Medicine, Abrahan has been traveling to Haiti since he was an undergraduate at UCF. In fact, he is the volunteer coordinator for another non-profit organization – Haiti Village Health.
Lacy began his trips in 2010 shortly after a tremendous earthquake crippled the country and injured and killed thousands. It was that experience that made Lacy start Hands Up for Haiti. The group, which includes physicians from New York and New Jersey, has six trips planned for 2011.
The latest trip wasn’t just about saving babies, Lacy said. It’s also a learning experience he highly recommends for students who can afford it. Because of a U.S. Department of State travel warning, Florida medical schools cannot send students to Haiti. So students interested must use their vacation time and pay their own way. But it is well worth it.
“It’s such a tremendous experience,” Lacy said. “From a clinical point of view, they see pathology in four days which they wouldn’t see in a whole year of medical school.”
Students get to practice what Lacy calls “pure medicine.”
“In some countries, like Haiti, you have to rely on medical histories and exams,” he said. “There are no labs, no x-rays, they just don’t have access to them. There’s no back up, so students are forced to use the clinical skills they learn.”
When he graduates, Abrahan said he plans to do international work to help those without access to medical care. He says it’s a way to give back for all the learning he’s received.

For Lacy and the second medical student, his daughter, a third-year medical student at the University of Florida, the experience has been life changing.
“There is a great feeling of fulfillment,” Lacy said. “There is more than just donating money happening here, we’re helping others save lives.”
You may read this press release in its original location on the University of Central Florida website: news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/index?page
UCF Stands For Opportunity --The University of Central Florida is a metropolitan research university that ranks as the second largest in the nation with more than 56,000 students. UCF's first classes were offered in 1968. The university offers impressive academic and research environments that power the region's economic development. UCF's culture of opportunity is driven by our diversity, Orlando environment, history of entrepreneurship and our youth, relevance and energy. For more information visit http://news.ucf.edu

http://news.ucf.edu/UCFnews/

[Maia Gabrial]

So, do you think anything will be done to the culprits now that they know who did it and how? Accidentally, my foot...!
I imagine the UN will probably not find a "definite suspect" because they're in this together.
Isn't that where the underground alien sea lab is at, according to what Aaron McCollum said? My conspiracy juices are flowing now....and wondering if they want to wipe out as many inhabitants on those islands as possible? I wonder what so important in that area....

[Ellisa]

i doubt it is deliberate contamination. Unfortunately cholera is endemic in Nepal, as it is in other areas where water supplies are unsafe. In even our most sophisticated countries we are only an accident away from contamination of our water supplies. If I were to be going to Nepal I would certainly take all precautions against cholera, including inoculation. It is not too much to speculate that an unknown and unknowing carrier was amongst the UN peacekeepers. If the water supply had been secure this would not have mattered.