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Cholera Kills More Than 2,000 in Haiti


Michelet Compere, 14, suffering from cholera, is carried on a stretcher by relatives during their four-hour journey from a remote village in Pond Chevalier to the hospital in Grande Riu Du Nord village, Haiti, Nov 29, 2010
Michelet Compere, 14, suffering from cholera, is carried on a stretcher by relatives during their four-hour journey from a remote village in Pond Chevalier to the hospital in Grande Riu Du Nord village, Haiti, Nov 29, 2010

Health officials in Haiti say the death toll from the country's cholera epidemic has risen to more than 2,000.

Haiti's Health Ministry reported Monday that more than 90,000 cases have been recorded since the outbreak began in October. The United Nations has warned the toll could become much higher before the epidemic is brought under control.

Cholera is spread through fecal-contaminated food and water. It causes vomiting and diarrhea, and can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death.

Health workers fear the disease could quickly spread throughout squalid tent camps, where hundreds of thousands of people have been living since the January earthquake that devastated the capital Port-au-Prince and surrounding areas.

Some information for this report was provided by AFP.

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