photo of child with cholera

Be sure to go to my pictures and look at my new photo that i posted of a young girl who has cholera! Just in case you cant find the photo, i posted it below
respond with comments as to what you think about the photo

This young girl looks to be younger and she also looks like she is scared. It makes me feel sad to see these young kids who are affected with this disease, but it makes me happy that they are receiving treatment. I wish that this girl had a smile on her face and that she did not have to get this disease in the first place!

cholera new reported on november 29

It is reported that the Cholera epidemic has gotten a lot worse and is affecting and harming more and more people as time goes by.

this is an article that was posted today about the situation:

"The number of deaths from the cholera epidemic afflicting Haiti since mid-October has risen to 1,721, health officials said Monday.

In all, 75,888 people have been attended for the fatal disease, of whom 33,485 were hospitalized, though 32,283 of them recovered and were sent home.

Cholera, which was eradicated in the impoverished Caribbean nation until it appeared last month, has killed 760 people in the northern province of Artibonite, the hardest hit by the scourge.

Following that province is Nord, with 290 deaths, Ouest with 285 including 162 in the Haitian capital, Plateau Central with 177, and Nord-Ouest province with 164 fatalities.

Port-au-Prince remains dotted with camps holding some of the hundreds of thousands of people left homeless by a Jan. 12 earthquake blamed for more than 200,000 deaths.

Only one of Haiti's 10 provinces, Nippes, has not had a single cholera death.

The origin of the epidemic remains unknown, although, according to examinations performed by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, it has been caused by a strain that is found in southern Asia.

Some Haitians accuse Nepalese troops with U.N. Stabilization Mission for Haiti, or Minustah, of being the origin of the epidemic and have related the outbreak of the disease with the dumping of human waste near a tributary of the Artibonite River."

http://latino.foxnews.com/latino/health/2010/11/29/number-haiti-dead-cholera-rises/


This is really scary to hear about the number of people who are hurt! 
33,485 people have been hospitalized and some of these people were treated. It is good to hear that people from the United States and other places are going into Haiti, risking their own health, to help people cure this disease.
One of my dads medical students who i went to Haiti with in April, just left for Haiti two days ago to help people with this situation. When she comes back i am going to meet with her for lunch to talk about what she saw, who she helped, and if the living conditions and poverty have gotten better from the last time i went to Haiti. I will write on the blog what i hear from her when she comes back!

fundraising ideas

So i was thinking about fundraisers that i could do with the help of my friends and class mates and although a bake sale would be a good idea, i was thinking maybe to sell these lollipops instead.
http://www.ozarkdelight.com/fundraising.asp
^visit the link above to look at them.

maybe i would at first buy the smaller pack that gave 120 lollipops for $39.00. I could do this and see how successful this went. I could sell each of the lollipops for $1.00 each and hopefully make 120 dollars. I also would need help selling them if anyone is interested.

Let me know if you think this is a good idea or have any other ideas as to how to raise money for the Cholera epidemic that is spreading around Haiti. Also give me other ideas because 120 dollars can help some, but can not help a lot of people.

recent cholera news

Hospitals in Haiti have experienced overcrowding because the Cholera epidemic has continued to spread. Of of November 12 more then 917 people have died from this disease and at least 14,600 people have been hospitalized in Haiti. Aid workers who are helping this situation in Haiti fear that the increase in people with this disease, the more overwhelmed Haiti's health care facilities will be. Hospital manager, Francoise Gyrone told The Associated Press, "In this hospital, because of space constraints, we have to make sure that people can be sent to another place where we can provide better care very fast, so that we can still receive patients." 


To help this situation Haitian President Rene Preval had brought a number of speakers in a sunday meeting to strive for citizens to practice good hygiene and proper cooking methods. But this teaching might not help all citizens because many are still homeless and unable to access clean water or reliable sanitation because of the earthquake. 


When people went around trying to teach Haitians about hygiene many of them say, "Let me have soap, I can't afford it." 
http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/11/14/aid-workers-fear-cholera-epidemic-overwhelm-haitian-hospitals/

video on cholera

These blog post are going to be about this video so those who read my blog can to go the website below and watch the first video that comes up. This video is about a new caster talking to a doctor who is in Haiti currently. This doctor is talking about the disease.

http://www.ctv.ca/CTVNews/World/20101109/cholera-reaches-haiti-capital-101109/

My response to the photos is in video is very sad and sympathetic because most of the children, woman, and men are hooked up to an lying on a bench or on the ground. The part that startled me the most was the woman who was on the ground who looked to be in a lot of pain. I think that she came up twice in this video. Also when this woman got water she only had a little glass which was also sad to see. In general this whole video was sad to watch. After everything that Haiti has gone through with the earthquake and a recent hurricane, it must be so hard for the Haitians who are infected or at risk of getting this disease.

I added this photo because it was on the same website as the video and it really shows how much pain this woman looks to be in. It is disturbing to see it and it makes me want to help. Maybe i could do a fund raiser with other people to raise money to help patients like this woman. The cost of all the medicine and water needed to help these patients must be a lot of money!

Maybe someone has an idea on what to do to raise money? if you have any suggestions comment them

why Americans should care about this issue of cholera in Haiti

I was browsing recent articles on Haiti and all them had titles that were talking about Cholera. One of them caught my eye. It sad to read and hear about it. It was written by Mark Leon Goldberg. Title is "Why Americans should care deeply about Cholera in Haiti." This article says:

Dr. Jon K. Andrus, Deputy Director of the Pan American Health Organization, gave a press briefing yesterday on the cholera epidemic in Haiti. It is among the scariest things I have read so far about the cholera outbreak. So far, there have been nearly 600 reported deaths and over 8,000 people have been hospitalized. But that is only the figures that have been officially reported. Chances are, the real infection rates are higher.   The epidemic has now firmly spread to Port au Prince, where Andrus said  conditions are “very ripe for rapid spread of cholera.” And Cholera will not go away anytime soon. In fact it will be around for years, and likely spread. Even, to North America. “We have to prepare for a large upsurge in cases,” Andrus said. “We have to be prepared with all the resources that are needed for a rapid response.” The last cholera epidemic in the Western Hemisphere began in Peru in 1991 and spread to some 16 other countries, from Argentina to Canada. In Peru alone, the epidemic produced more than 650,000 cases over six years. Adjusting for population size, a similar pattern would produce upwards of 270,000 cases in Haiti, Andrus said. This is going to get much worse before it gets better.  There are large Haitian diaspora populations in major cities like Miami, New York, Boston and Montreal so it is in all Americans’ interest to keep this contained–not to mention the interest of the millions of Haitians now living under threat of cholera.
http://www.undispatch.com/why-americans-should-care-deeply-about-cholera-in-haiti

After reading this article i realized how serious this disease this is and how so many people are harmed to us. I don't know if it would actually end up spreading to the United States, but it could. I am glad to hear that many people are going to Haiti and helping out with this condition. But i wonder if it would be harmful to those who go to Haiti, if they could end up coming back with the disease?
Give me your feedback on this article! thanks 

Cholera epidemic in Haiti

Reported on november 10, 2010:

"At least 73 cholera cases have been confirmed in Haiti's capital, increasing fears that the disease may run amok among people living in shantytowns and tent camps.

But doctors say nearly all those cases involve people who were infected outside Port-au-Prince. Still, the presence of cholera in the capital is worrisome because the shabby conditions following January's earthquake and the recent Hurricane Tomas (toh-MAHS') are conducive for spreading it.

So far, more than 580 people have died from cholera in Haiti. More than 9,500 others are hospitalized with confirmed cases. A confirmed case of the disease had never been seen in Haiti before last month.

Haiti's health ministry says cholera has become a threat to the entire nation of 10 million people."

http://www.kake.com/news/headlines/Scores_Of_Cholera_Cases_Confirmed_In_Port-Au-Prince_107034613.html

From reading this report on Cholera in Haiti and I worried that it  is going to keep spreading and spreading. Recently in Haiti there was Hurricane Tomas and this made the spread of Cholera even worse. This is because this hurricane resulted in people loosing homes and living on the streets. Living on the streets is unsanitary and so therefore Cholera is spread easier. Haiti has also had a lack of clean water. This is a down affect because one of the affects of Cholera is extreme dehydration. Those who are infected may not be able to buy or receive the water needed to cure this infection. 

Another Article updated on November 10, 2010 at 9:24 AM stated that Cholera has now spread to the capital and now another 3 million people are at risk or have this disease in Haiti. This disease just recently spread to the capital port-au-prince. The capital of Haiti has many people who are homeless and Cholera is extremely contagious. 

Cholera facts

What is Cholera? Cholera is a serious disease that is infectious and is caused by Vibrio Cholerae bacteria. It affects the intestinal system of the body. Someone who is infected with this disease experiences severe vomiting, diarrhea, and severe dehydration.

Result of Cholera: Without medical treatment, people infected with Cholera can result in death within four to twelve hours after the symptoms begin.

How is it spread? Cholera is contagious and is spread through human contact. Some people are infected by Cholera by eating undercooked meat and shellfish.

Treatment: Cholera can be treated with fluids and antibiotics. In some poorer areas, where antibiotics are not available for everyone, a mixture of water and glucose for dehydration is helpful. Cholera can sometimes resolve itself after a period of time.

Dangers of Cholera? The dangers of Cholera are that it spreads easily among a group of people. This is because people experience human contact on a day to day basis. Another danger is that Cholera causes extreme dehydration and in areas where water is not a surplus liquid, many people can not get enough and die.

Where is this disease common? Cholera is common in unsanitary living conditions because of the poverty and lack of resources, like water. Cholera is not common in developed countries because of the medical treatment that is available, regulated health standards, clean/sanitary water, and the fact that developed countries have effective sewage systems.
http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-cholera.htm

The reason as to why  i am talking about Cholera is because this disease has come to Haiti and is spreading among a lot of the population there.

topic suggestions?

So as people from my english class know, we have to write an insight paper and i don't exactly know what i would like to write about.. Does anyone maybe have any suggestions of what would be interesting to hear about? I want to have a topic that i can create an argument for and also that i can research a little bit.

I was thinking maybe to talk about why sports brought together the people from Haiti. Like for example, when i went, some workers and boys were kicking the soccer ball back and forth in a circle laughing and smiling. They were showing off their amazing soccer skills. I joined in with them and it was really fun. I could also talk about how the soccer field that they had there had to be used for helocopters to land in, and when doctors stopped using the field to fly in patients, the people were happy and did not need to play soccer on the rocks and uneven surfaces anymore.

Or i could maybe try to get in contact with one specific person from Haiti and talk with them to see if any of the living have improved, but they may be a lot harder to research

let me know if you guys like any of my topics or have any suggestions. Thanks!