Cuba Experiencing Cholera Outbreak, 50 People Now Infected

At least three people have died and 50 have been infected since a cholera outbreak was discovered in the south-eastern town of Manzanillo, Cuba.

Medical officials have rushed to contain the outbreak by treating nearly 1,000 people in the area.

Officials from the island nation claim that four hospitals are prepared to isolate any further cholera patients after people became ill while drinking water from contaminated wells.

While officials are not certain where the cholera outbreak originated from it is possible that doctors, nurses and other health professionals brought the disease back with them after providing humanitarian relief following the Haiti earthquake. Haiti had a bad cholera outbreak in 2010. A Florida resident after returning from Haiti in 2010 was discovered to have been infected with cholera but she managed to beat the disease after returning home.

At this time most of the 50 cases have been discovered in the south-eastern Grnma provides which is located nearly 470 miles from Havana.

Doctors are currently testing the most susceptible patients first including the elderly, pregnant and infirm. The most recent discovery comes from a 60-year-old woman who was admitted to a Cuban hospital on Wednesday.

Officials in Cuba say they have “all the necessary resources to provide adequate attention to patients.”

In the meantime chlorine has been added to drinking water wells to help kill off the disease and doctors have taken samples of that water to test it for impurities.

Patients with Cholera can suffer from diarrhea and dehydration which can ultimately lead to death.

The last report of a cholera outbreak accord to Cuba’s Health Ministry was shortly after the 1959 Revolution.