Cholera Outbreak in Haiti and Dominican Republic. Situation Report, n.13 (6 February 2023)

Abstract

In Haiti, as 5 February 2023, the Department of Epidemiology, Laboratories, and Research (DELR) have reported 28,901 suspected cholera cases in all 10 departments of the country. Of these, 2,107 cases have been confirmed in ten departments: 1,205 (57%) in Ouest, followed by 383 in Centre, 106 in Nord, and 104 in Artibonite. In Haiti, PAHO/WHO continues to support the Ministry of Health (Ministère de la Santé Publique et de la Population – MSPP) and partners, including in: - Coordination of the cholera response by strengthening the leadership of the National Unit for management of health emergencies (UNGUS) as the cholera coordination mechanism established by the MSPP. - Support to the Departmental Health Directorates through the deployment of 14 Assistant Epidemiologists in all 10 departments of the country, facilitating timely investigation of cholera alerts, data collection, analysis, and reporting. - Strategic and technical support for the implementation of the first cholera vaccination campaign, in the Ouest and Centre Departments, in which 850,067 people were vaccinated, including 3,797 inmates in the Mirebalais, Carrefour and Port au Prince civil prisons. - Distribution of medical and non-medical supplies for the cholera response in all departments across the country by air and land, including Cholera beds, Rapid Diagnostic Test, Ringer Lactate, laboratory reagents, aqua tabs, etc. In the Dominican Republic, on 1 February the Ministry of Public Health confirmed four new cholera cases, bringing the total number of confirmed cases to 47, eleven of which were imported from Haiti. PAHO/WHO is providing technical and logistical support to the Ministry of Health in investigating and responding to cholera alerts, the development of prevention activities through risk communication and community engagement, as well as in implementation of the ongoing vaccination campaign. On 26 January, the World Health Organization (WHO) Headquarters with all WHO Regional offices took the unanimous decision to label the current Global Cholera situation as a Grade 3 multi-region Public Health Emergency, which is the highest level of institutional priority assigned a public health event, ensuring a higher investment of resources and improved coordination at all levels of the organization to effectively respond to the scale of the emergency. The decision was reached considering the current scale of the ongoing cholera outbreaks, the potential for further international spread, the high urgency due to high levels of mortality and morbidity, complexity factors and the current limited capacity to respond. In Haiti, as 5 of February, a total of 28,901 suspected cholera cases were reported in all ten departments in the country, including cases reported in the Civil Prison in Port-au- Prince. Of these, 2,107 were confirmed by the national laboratory, including 560 deaths. To date, ten departments have reported confirmed cases, with the majority being reported in Ouest (1,205), followed by Centre 383), Nord (106) and Artibonite (104). Since 30 January, there has been an overall increase of 6.65% in suspected cases and a 2.48% increase in confirmed cases across the country (Figure 1). The case fatality rate among suspected cases is 2%. The Ouest Department reported a -1.89% decrease in suspected cases and a 0.84% rise in confirmed cases since 30 January 2023. The other nine departments reported an average increase of 21.04% in suspected cases and a 4.76% rise in confirmed cases during the same period (Figure 1). The most affected municipalities in the Ouest Department continue to be Port-au-Prince, Delmas, Cité Soleil, Carrefour, and Pétion-Ville, where the majority of suspected and confirmed cases are reported.