The latest few weeks have seen a significant increase in the number of suspect cholera cases in Haiti, and in Port-au-Prince in particular. Over 2,200 suspect cases and 41 deaths have been reported since 2nd October by the health authorities. This number may actually be underestimated due to the fuel and security situation preventing people from reaching health facilities in the city, the closing of many of these facilities caused by the lack of fuel, and the inaccessibility of some neighbourhoods. The resurgence of cholera in the country adds to an already catastrophic health situation, marked by major limitations in access to healthcare and clean water (a key resource in the fight against cholera) due to ongoing gang violence and the blockage of the main oil terminal by one of these armed groups, which left over half of the city’s hospitals without fuel and forced them to shut down.

Since the arrival of the first few suspect cholera patients at the MSF facilities at the end of September, more than 2,000 patients have been admitted to the four MSF cholera treatment facilities currently operating in Port-au-Prince.

The resurgence of cholera was declared at the beginning of October, three years after the latest patient from a decade-long outbreak that had killed over 10,000 people.