Haiti cholera epidemic reaches Dominican Republic
Fears are growing that Haiti’s cholera epidemic has spread to neighbouring Dominican Republic after health officials confirmed a man was hospitalised with the condition yesterday.
The unidentified man, a Haitian national, had travelled back from Haiti to the eastern tip of the Dominican Republic by road, according to Health Minister Bautista Rojas Gomez.
“The patient has been handled with the protocol these cases require and he is in stable condition in a hospital in Higuey,” the minister said.
Mr Gomez said that the man, who is thought to be a 32-years-old, is a manual worker who commutes across the border by bus to a construction job in Higuey, the country’s so-called Capital of Tourism, 140 kilometres (87 miles) east of the capital Santa Domingo.
“The bus has been found and sanitary measures were taken on the spot,” the minister said, adding that the vehicle and its contents had been isolated.
It has not been disclosed whether there were other people travelling on the bus.
On Tuesday, Haiti officials said that 1,034 have died since the outbreak of cholera almost a month ago.
The United Nations estimates that up to 200,000 Haitians could contract the disease.
Haiti’s market vendors who work along the border with the Dominican Republic protested on Saturday because soldiers would not allow them to cross to other side.
The Haitians claimed all the restrictions had been lifted for Dominican Republic citizens who can freely cross to the Haitian side.
People on both sides of the border make a living thanks to the bi-national markets, especially those in Dajabón and Elias Piña, which take place twice a week.
Haitian vendors said the cholera outbreak threat has been used by their Dominican competitors to take over the markets with their products selling on both sides, while they are not allowed to do the same.
According to a Dominican newspaper, the Government has banned the sale of used clothes and footwear in markets along its border with Haiti.
The unrest follows violent protests on Monday, when demonstrators clashed with UN troops in the northern city of Cap-Haitien.
At least two demonstrators were killed in the chaos.
The crowds accused the Haitian government of leaving people to die and blamed the UN peacekeepers for allegedly introducing cholera to the country.
The cause of the outbreak is still unknown, but the UN has repeatedly denied that riverside latrines at the Nepalese camp were the cause of the cholera.
Cholera, which is highly infectious, is caused by unclean water, but it can be cured with proper medicines, clean water and sanitary facilities.
In Pictures: Channel 4 News cameraman Dai Baker captures Haiti as he returns with Jon Snow and the team. View the gallery here.
