Cholera kills resident of Salvapan

Health officials predicted that the flooding associated with Hurricane Mitch could lead to an outbreak of cholera… and today that prediction has come to pass. Authorities report that last Thursday a seventy-eight year old resident of Salvapan died from the disease at Belmopan Hospital. Doctors say that his age and the late stage at which he sought treatment contributed to his death. Four other cholera cases have also been reported in the area, which includes the villages of Maya Mopan and San Martin as well as Salvapan. These patients have all been treated and released. According to epidemiologist Dr. Jorge Polanco, the high water associated with the storm made it easier for the disease to spread as feces from latrines in flooded areas can be carried over a large area and can contaminate the shallow wells used by some village households. Polanco believes that measures taken to stop the spread of cholera will prevent any major new outbreaks. This evening a meeting was held in Salvapan in which villagers were urged to boil their drinking water and take other measures to improve hygiene.