On the night of October 20, 2010, I posted this: Haiti: A mysterious outbreak.
Via Treyfish at Pandemic Information News, an AP report: Officials probe possible outbreak in rural Haiti. Excerpt:
Health officials in rural Haiti are investigating a possible disease outbreak that could be responsible for dozens of deaths and a surge in hospital patients, U.N. aid workers said Wednesday.
Haitian government officials say at least 19 people have died after suffering brief bouts of fever, vomiting and severe diarrhea, with dozens of more deaths suspected. Most are reportedly children.
Hundreds of patients reporting those symptoms have overwhelmed a hospital in the seaside town of St. Marc, some 45 miles (about 70 kilometers) north of the capital of Port-au-Prince, Catherine Huck, country deputy for the U.N. Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs, told The Associated Press.
This is the first report on disease in Haiti that I've seen in a long time, so it deserves some follow-up. I don't find anything about it on OCHA's website, but I'll look for more details in the morning.
The details soon began pouring in. Six years and almost 800,000 cases later, they keep coming.
If I recall correctly, the first cholera case came to the attention of a Cuban doctor on October 14; by the time the world heard about it, the disaster was unstoppable.
I try to commemorate this anniversary every year. Following Haiti has been a major part of my self-education in the politics of public health, and it's taught me that politics dominates public health when it should be the other way around.
