Cholera Outbreak in Cuba Hits Havana

A patient in a Havana hospital was diagnosed with having cholera. This followed the deaths of three people in the town of Manzanillo in the southeastern region of the Caribbean nation. Latest numbers have 50 people being infected with the condition and another 1,000 having received medical attention.

Authorities from the Castro regime said the outbreak was under control. Four hospitals in the capital of Havana have set up areas where patients will be isolated if the need arises. The hospitals said people have become ill after they have had water from wells that were contaminated. However, the source of the outbreak of cholera is still unclear.

The majority of cases were contained in the Granma province in southeastern Cuba, which is over 470 miles away from the capital. Over a hundred medical professionals located in that area, including dozens of nurses, have been working with many patients in Haiti, where nearly a hundred thousand people have been infected with cholera since the 2010 devastating earthquake.

However, in Havana medical personnel have been checking for cholera symptoms for the past week. Nurses are prioritizing by checking first pregnant women and the elderly. A woman who was admitted to a Havana hospital last week was confirmed to have the disease. The woman was diagnosed with the disease in its early stages and is expected to be fine.

A series of measures have been taken by health officials in the country including testing samples of water and having chlorine added to the water to try to contain the outbreak.

Cholera is a strong bacterial infection that causes severe dysentery and dehydration and can be very serious when it afflicts the elderly, very young and those with lower immune systems. The last time there was a cholera outbreak on the island nation was shortly after the Revolution in 1959.