On Cholera

I was in a meeting today in which several people around the table were recounting their January 12 stories (the earthquake).  They were terrifying.  I found myself clutching the sides of my chair as I listened to accounts of desperate dashes across town in search of children, of a diabetic friend trapped in the rubble for two days, of the  end of the world.

This came up because we were discussing the cholera outbreak that hit Haiti this week. It's the first anyone can remember and is spreading fast.  USAID and CDC are in a frenzy.  Text messages with URGENT!! requests for emergency response are crowding the airwaves.  Amidst the frenzy is a bit of silliness.  One donor sent us radio spots for cholera that were recorded in the US (uhm, why?) with such useful messages (in bad Kreyol) as "wash your food with water treated with five drops of bleach".  Five drops of water....per cup?  Per jug?  Per tank?  I suppose this kind of sloppy communication is why I am employed.  I was very proud that the ministry of health rejected the spots. Hee.

Today, I heard of two cases of cholera at the outskirts of Port-au-Prince and one death.  I hope they let me get on the plane to Cuba tomorrow...