Haitians in makeshift hospital facilities. | Photo: Twitter/ @IWebmedias

Port-au-Prince, October 4 (RHC)-- The Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) warned of a possible cholera outbreak in Haiti, a country where this disease had not been reported for three years.

Local health authorities confirmed two cases of Vibrio Cholerae O1 in a Port-au-Prince, where doctors previously detected 20 suspected cases of cholera and reported eight deaths associated with this disease.

"Clusters of suspected cases and deaths are being investigated in several communes of the Ouest department, including the communes of Cite Soleil and Port-au-Prince," OPS said.  Over the last week, health facilities in Port-au-Prince and Cite Soleil reported an increase in cases of severe acute diarrhea among hospitalized children and adults.

Most of the cholera victims suffered from diarrheal diseases and died in their residences due to the difficulties that ambulances and people have to enter or leave certain territories.  This happens due to road blockades set up by gang wars or ongoing protests against Prime Minister Ariel Henry.

“The timely evaluation of the epidemiological situation is complex,” PAHO said, explaining that fuel shortages also affect the shipment of biological samples from health facilities to reference laboratories.

From October 2010 to February 2019, the cholera virus caused over 820,000 cases and left 10,000 people dead in Haiti.  This disease proliferates in situations of extreme poverty where basic services are precarious or non-existent.