Stories from the field
Red Cross efforts making a difference in cholera outbreak
by Sophie Chavanel, Senior Communications Coordinator for the Canadian Red Cross in Haiti
Marie-Claude Jean is a senior medical officer at the Canadian Red Cross cholera treatment centre in Carrefour, Haiti. She is happy to have seen a decrease in the number of cholera cases over the past couple of weeks and is convinced that the door-to-door cholera awareness work carried out by Red Cross volunteers and nurses has made a difference . “The centre was overflowing with patients two months ago,” she says. “Now there are empty beds and the other centres in the area are seeing the same thing. It’s great news!”
The Canadian Red Cross cholera treatment centre was set up and began receiving patients on December 12, 2010. To date, over 1,200 patients have been treated. In recent weeks, the number of beds has been reduced but the centre remains equipped should the number of cholera patients rise. “We are ready to increase the number of beds if we have to,” explained Cyril Stein, Canadian Red Cross team leader of the cholera treatment centre. “If needed, we can admit 100 patients a day.”
Dr. Alain Parent of the Canadian Red Cross remains cautious and still believes that we must not assume that the situation is under control. “We won’t get back to where we were at the very start of the cholera outbreak in October,” he says. “But there are so many factors that could increase the number of cases, like travel problems due to electoral tension or the rainy season.” Since cholera is not prevalent in Haiti, it is still unknown what effect the rainy season will have. “We still want to make sure that Haitians have what they need to act should cases increase,” he added.
