Disease Prevention and Control / Communicable Diseases / Emerging and Reemerging Diseases

Photo Gallery: Typhoid Epidemic in Ca Pierre, Haiti

In June 2004, an epidemic of typhoid fever occurred in Haiti, caused by the general absence of latrines, lack of treated drinking water, and unprotected water sources. The main community water source is located in a ravine, linked to a nearby brook used as a toilet. The dispensary run by the non-governmental organization (NGO) SADA (Service and Development Agency) tended to and is still tending to patients ill from this outbreak, though lately fewer of them. Emergency measures include health-education sessions on water-borne diseases and on how to treat drinking water, and the distribution of 200 water-treatment kits, 5-gallon plastic containers for drinking water, half-liter jugs of bleach, and a drip-counter.

The final report included short-term recommendations to reinforce actions to educate the population on the importance of treating drinking water; and mid-term recommendations to protect, rehabilitate and evaluate risky water sources, as well as to construct latrines. For more information, see the final report in French and the summary version in English in EID Weekly Updates.

The thumbnails below are linked to the original (larger) photos (all in JPG), courtesy of the PAHO Country Office in Haiti.