HAITI - Cholera claims 650

Port-au-Prince, Haiti (CMC):

The United Nations Office for the Coordi-nation of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) disclosed that nearly 650 people have died since the October cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Citing figures provided by the Haitian government, OCHA said 9,971 cases have been confirmed and that there have also been cases of the water-borne disease in the capital.

Poor sanitary conditions in many parts of the country, floods and mud flows associated with Hurricane Tomas, which swept past the country last weekend, are likely to accelerate the spread of the disease, OCHA said in an update.

Cholera has so far been confirmed in six administrative divisions, and humanitarian organisations have mobilised resources since the beginning of the outbreak to support the Government's preparations for a worst-case scenario, a nationwide epidemic.

There are now 15 cholera treatment centres nationwide, and public and private hospitals around the country have also been equipped to respond, according to OCHA. Assessment teams are determining where additional treatment centres may be needed, including in rural areas.