Dr. Bautista Rojas Gomez, Minister of Public Health, announced Tuesday, November 16 during a press conference that the first cholera case was confirmed in the country.

The victim, Wilmo Louwef, is a 32 year old man, a haitian citizen, worker in the construction industry who was in Haiti, on October 31 for his vacation. According to the explanations of the Dominican Minister of Health, the man returned to the Dominican Republic on November 12. Arriving in Higuey (Altagracia Province), 140 km east of the capital, place of residence of this man, feeling bad, he was then admitted to a hospital unidentified at Higuey. Following the protocol of health monitoring implemented in the country, the hospital immediately send samples of execrable, for analysis. The results came back positive to the strain of cholera which prevails in Haiti. The patient is currently in stable condition, pending further analysis whose results are expected Wednesday to determine the type of antibiotic to be used in treatment.

The man returned to the Dominican Republic on a bus that had sanitary facilities. The minister informed that the bus was quickly located and that the sanitary waste had been recovered and isolated.

Recall that for several weeks, the Dominican government has implemented stringent controls to prevent the development of this highly contagious disease in its territory. The Dominican Republic has doubled its workforce including military on the border where a cordon is in vigor, limited the trade with Haiti, and the entry of Haitians in the Dominican Republic.

The most recent assessment (November 14, 2010) published on Tuesday by the Ministry of Public Health and Population (MSPP) reported 16.799 hospitalization since the beginning of the epidemic and 1.034 deaths at the national level, nothing to reassure voters. https://www.haitilibre.com/en/news-1676-haiti-epidemic-16799-cases-declared-1034-deaths-the-riposte-intensifies.html

S/ HaitiLibre