Haiti cholera toll soars past 250

The death toll from the outbreak had leapt past 250, officials said yesterday. More than 3,000 people were infected, said Gabriel Thimote, director general of Haiti's health department.

Five cases of cholera were detected in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but United Nations officials said the patients had been quickly diagnosed and isolated.

Around a million survivors of January's earthquake in Haiti are living in tents near the city with poor sanitary conditions.

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"If the epidemic makes its way to Port-au-Prince, where children and families are living in unsanitary, overcrowded camps, the results could be disastrous," said Dr Estrella Serrano, World Vision's emergency response health and nutrition manager.

Reports trickled in of patients seeking treatment in clinics closer to Port-au-Prince because the St Nicolas hospital in the city of St Marc was overflowing, said Margaret Aguirre, an International Medical Corps spokeswoman.

At least five people who travelled from the Artibonite region to Port-au-Prince tested positive for cholera once they arrived in the capital, where they were being treated, she said.

Ms Aguirre said they are not considered the first cholera cases of Port-au-Prince because officials believe the people contracted the disease in Artibonite.