BBC News reports: “The United Nations has warned that the cholera epidemic in Haiti could affect many more people than previously believed.

UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon said that health officials now estimated that 650,000 people could become infected over the next six months.

He also said that the UN believed the number of deaths could be twice as high as the official figure of 1,800.

Mr. Ban said there was an urgent need for more medical personnel.

Officials from the Pan-American and World Health Organisations estimate that an additional 350 doctors are needed on top of the 300 medical staff already committed by Cuba…” (Matthew 24:7; Luke 21:11; Revelation 6:7 8. See also the next report.)

Voice of America News reports: “International aid groups are trying to stop the spread of cholera in Haiti’s capital Port-au-Prince, where many earthquake survivors live in makeshift camps and filthy slums.

Cholera strikes so fast it is sometimes called the lightening disease. Without rehydration therapy, or antibiotics for severe cases, cholera can kill in a matter of hours. The disease causes acute diarrhea that can lead to severe dehydration.

Most of the more than one million Haitians displaced by a powerful earthquake last January live in tent cities around the capital, and waterborne cholera bacteria spread easily in unsanitary conditions where supplies are shared for cooking and washing. But unsanitary conditions in Haiti are not limited to these camps.

‘Before this, Port-au-Prince for the most part, was a large urban slum with very poor water and sanitation conditions,’ noted Dr. Jon Andrus of the Pan American Health Organization, an arm of the World Health Organization. ‘This is ripe for the rapid spread of cholera. We expect transmission to be extensive.’…”