400,000 people predicted to be affected by cholera in Haiti seems to be worst according to experts.
Latest estimate suggest that the diarrhea disease could strike nearly twice as many of what have been predicted.
In the Lancet Journal, US researchers said that Haiti officials should double up their aid efforts to help the victims of the disease.
World Health Organization said in a statement that they are doing their best to control the outbreak and that it’s too early to predict the final number of people to be affected.
Cholera is a disease p(–foul word(s) removed–)ed from person-to-person through a contaminated food and water. Children and elderly who are exposed to such disease are said to be in great risk due to the danger of dehydration.
As of the record in the past three months from October to December 2010, there are 150,000 people who have this disease and 3,500 of them died.
The United Nations said that the expected number of people will rise up to 400,000 but researchers in the University of California disagreed to this prediction. They believe that affected person could increase up to 779,000 with 11,000 deaths in the end of November 2011.
This numbers are said to be concluded by the researchers after they have studied the data they took from Haiti’s Ministry of Health.
Dr. Sanjay Basu one of the member of University of California who is studying the outbreak explained how they have come up to this prediction. He said that they took into account the factors like which water supplies have been contaminated and how much immunity the population has to the disease.
He also added this epidemic will not likely be a short-term; instead it will continue and contaminate more people in Haiti.
Researchers suggest to the UN that more lives will likely be saved if there will be an enough supply of Clean Water, Vaccination, and expand access to antibiotics.
As of march 10, 2011 252,640 is said to be affected where 4,672 of them died. UN warns that researchers have to be cautious in their predictions.
In addition, UN admitted that the cholera will likely stay long in the country but they are already reconstructing new water and sanitation system for it to completely go away.
