Friday, November 19, 2010

Cholera spreads to packed Haiti prison

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19/11/2010 - 13:37:36
Cholera has spread to Haiti’s national prison in the capital Port-au-Prince, the Red Cross said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross said 30 inmates have been infected with the disease and 10 have died in the past four days.

Red Cross spokesman Marcal Izard said the outbreak is particularly worrying because the prison is so overcrowded.

It holds 2,000 inmates, or about a quarter of Haiti’s total prison population.

Mr Izard said the Red Cross and national authorities are “working around the clock to make this prison safe”.

According to government figures, more than 1,100 people have died and more than 18,000 have been hospitalised since the outbreak began last month.

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