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Anchor Lisa Mullins speaks with David Darg of the humanitarian group, Operation Blessing, about the reported outbreak of cholera in Haiti in a region north of Port-au-Prince. The outbreak has killed at least 140 people.Download MP3

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LISA MULLINS: I’m Lisa Mullins and this is The World, a co-production of the BBC World Service, PRI and WGBH in Boston. A confirmed outbreak of cholera in Haiti has authorities and aid workers there worried. The outbreak is in a rural region north of Port-au-Prince and it’s killed at least 140 people. The fear is that things could get a lot worse if the disease spreads to the crowded camps housing thousands of Haitians displaced by the earthquake in January. Water expert David Darg, of the humanitarian group Operation Blessing, has been working in Haiti since the quake. He’s just returned from his latest trip there.

DAVID DARG:  just last night I left the hospital in the city of Saint-Marc and it was just a horrific scene. The hospital was inundated with patients clamoring at the gate to get in. The hospital is having to turn away people because they just couldn’t cope with so many people turning up at the gates. and it was just a very sad scene. People dying, people sick. and obviously very worrying for all of the relief groups and the medics on the ground.

MULLINS:  David, is this throughout the major parts of Haiti or is this isolated right now in particular villages?

DARG: Well, it started in an isolated area, but the source of this disease, as far as we know, is the river, the Artibonite River, which runs through quite a vast expanse of the central plateau. So it could be affecting huge areas as far as we know now.

MULLINS: what do you yourself find as a water expert going through the area? what were you looking for?

DARG: Well, I’ve been in cholera regions before in India in 2007 following the floods in Bihar. I was in some really horrific cholera epidemic areas and the scenes I saw yesterday in Haiti were very similar. myself and all of the other NGO workers said this is cholera and we knew what it was and we knew what to do to tackle the problem.

MULLINS: how do you know what it was? how did you know? is it by the symptoms?

DARG: It’s the symptoms, yeah, and I don’t want to go into too much graphic detail, but there in the hospital in Saint-Marc you can almost instantly tell by looking at someone, just go by their symptoms, that it’s cholera.

MULLINS: how quickly do people pass away when they’re struck with cholera?

DARG: It can depend on how healthy they are to start with. in this region there’s high levels of malnutrition anyway. High levels of dehydration anyway and we heard of people dying as quickly as four hours after contracting it.

MULLINS:  is there treatment available or anything that could save lives that’s there now?

DARG: Yeah, the thing with cholera is it is treatable. Once someone’s contracted the disease, if they’re given the correct treatments, if they’re rehydrated through intravenous drips, it’s very often that you can come through the disease.

MULLINS: and is that available or is it just a shortage of beds in hospitals right now?

DARG: Yesterday the hospitals were struggling to cope. I think today the situation’s becoming better for the victims and there’s definitely more doctors on the ground.

MULLINS: I thank you very much for talking with us. David Darg, a water expert for Operation Blessing who has just returned from Haiti where there’s a rising number of deaths from cholera. David, thank you.

DARG: Thank you very much.

The Disasters Emergency Committee in the UK has expressed grave concern following reports of cholera in Pakistan’s Swat Valley.

With floodwaters affecting a fifth of the country, and stretching for more than 600 miles, the DEC warned that millions of people are at risk of potentially deadly water borne diseases.

Disasters Emergency Committee chief executive Brendan Gormley says: “We are extremely concerned by reports of cholera in the Swat valley. The numbers reportedly affected so far appear to be small but cholera causes acute watery diarrhoea which allows it to spread very quickly in cramped, unhygienic conditions.”

“Aid workers greatly fear cholera after a disaster because, without treatment, more than half those infected are likely to die. Cholera can be prevented by providing clean drinking water, good sanitation and rapid treatment of those affected. Our member agencies will be redoubling their efforts to improve the provision of clean water and sanitation to the huge number of people affected by the flooding. any outbreaks of highly infectious diarrhoeal diseases need to be contained as quickly as possible in order to prevent further deaths,” he added.

Millions of survivors are currently struggling without access to safe water, more than two weeks after the disaster first struck. Merlin, a member agency of the DEC, has seen a significant rise in cases of acute watery diarrhoea throughout the worst affected areas, particularly in young children. With as many as 20% of patients in some areas affected.

Linda Doull, Director of Health and Policy at Merlin, commented: “If left untreated, the rapid loss of fluids caused by acute watery diarrhoea, such as with cholera, can prove fatal within hours.”

She continued: “We need to ensure patients have access to medical staff, that enough diarrhoea treatment units are set up swiftly and that the delivery of safe water is made an absolute priority.”

“Most cholera cases can be effectively and easily treated with oral rehydration salts, costing just 3p per sachet,” she said.

UN officials have said there have been 86,000 suspected cases of acute watery diarrhoea reported so far. Acute watery diarrhoea is one of the main symptoms of cholera although it can also be caused by other water borne diseases.

DEC member agency efforts to treat and prevent waterborne diseases include:

* Oxfam has provided clean water for over 150,000 people by fixing water systems and trucking clean water supplies. As well as purchasing aid in- country, they have sent 19,000 water purification tablets, 455 latrine slabs/squatting plates and six de-watering kits (pumps for cleaning contaminated wells).

* Merlin has delivered 4,000 packets of water purification tablets – enough to make 400,000 litres of safe drinking water – 48,000 packs of oral rehydration salts and 20,000 doses of antibiotics to help fight the rising number of diarrhoeal disease and other infections. They are also setting up 3 Diarrhoea Treatment Units in three districts, capable of treating 300 patients at any one time.

* Save the Children has established a diarrhoea treatment center in Swat for children and adults, and is distributing hygiene kits, and conducting hygiene promotion to prevent rise in water-borne diseases like acute watery diarrhoea.

* Concern have given clean drinking water to 12,400 in Swat and Charsadda.

To make a donation to the DEC Pakistan Floods Appeal call the 24 hour hotline on 0370 60 60 900, visit dec.org.uk or donate over the counter at any post office or high street bank, or send a cheque. You can also donate £5 by texting the word GIVE to 70707