IN THE TIME OF CHOLERA – 1 YEAR 8 MO. 1 DAY

Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by ingestion of food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It has a short incubation period, from less than one day to five days, and produces an enterotoxin that causes a copious, painless, watery diarrhea that can

cholera

quickly lead to severe dehydration and death if treatment is not promptly given. Vomiting also occurs in most patients. -WHO

 

White vomit.

Coupled with white, explosive diarrhea.

Not cute and definitely not fun.

So not fun that Peace Corps rounded us (all 200 volunteers) up for an emergency info session on how to prevent and treat the sickness when it happens to us. When being the most important word in that sentence because, according to Peace Corps, it’s only a matter of time before the Haitian cholera epidemic spreads to the DR.

This occurs, of course, because of the lack of infrastructure for water sanitation on both sides of the island. There is virtually no difference in the way that Haitians handle water and the way Dominicans do.

A river separates Haitian and Dominican soil. In this river, life happens. People wash clothes, bathe, dump trash and gather drinking water.

Since neither country has seen the disease in recent years, most people know little to nothing about it. That means that the amount of infections will grow at a rapidly increasing exponential rate with little hope of successful counter measures.

The disease mostly kills of the weak and prone to sickness: children and older populations. And it does so in a matter of hours.

All this means that a lot of people are going to die. People we know. People we love.

Disease is both a symptom and cause of impoverished conditions. Can the Dominican, reliant on tourism economically, endure an epidemic that will last for years to come? Haiti certainly cannot.

It’s a hard thing to know what’s coming and feel like a grain of sand against the tide.

Yet grains we are. Most volunteers are working to educate their neighbors on food prep and water storage. The Dominican government has “closed” Haitian borders (meaning they can’t legally cross to sell goods) until further notice. (I’ll have another blog post later in the week dedicated to that issue).

Everyone here on the isle is scrambling to fight a threat much more dangerous than the one the world is watching with Hurricane Tomas.

Here’s what Peace Corps recommends:

THIS IS AN ALERT: An epidemic of Cholera has been detected in Haiti.What should PCVs do to avoid getting cholera?

The risk for cholera is very low for PCVs in areas with epidemic cholera. When simple precautions are observed, contracting the disease is unlikely.

All travelers to areas where cholera has occurred should observe the following recommendations:

• Drink only water that you have boiled or treated with chlorine or iodine. Other safe beverages include tea and coffee made with boiled water and carbonated bottled beverages with no ice.
• Eat only foods that have been thoroughly cooked and are still hot, or fruit that you have washed and peeled yourself.
• Avoid undercooked or raw fish or shellfish, including ceviche or sushi.
• Make sure all vegetables are cooked. Avoid salads unless you have cleaned them personally.
• Avoid foods and beverages from street vendors.

A simple rule of thumb is “Boil it, cook it, peel it, or forget it.”

Symptoms of cholera may include:

• violent white liquid-like diarrhea
  
• high fever
• sometimes vomiting