UN appeals for £102m to combat cholera in Haiti

A spokeswoman for the UN humanitarian office said unless the funds are provided "all our efforts can be outrun by the epidemic".

UN and non-governmental organisations would use the money to bring in extra doctors, medicine and water purification equipment to treat up to 200,000 people who could be affected by the disease, spokeswoman Elisabeth Byrs told reporters in Geneva.

She said the disease has so far infected at least 11,125 people in five of Haiti's 10 districts though 10 of the deaths and 278 cases have occurred in the capital Port-au-Prince.

"We absolutely need this money as soon as possible," said Ms Byrs.

The World Health Organisation said the epidemic was not likely to end soon.

"The projections of 200,000 cases over the next six to 12 months shows the amplitude of what could be expected," said spokesman Gregory Hartl.

He said the current fatality rate of 6.5 per cent was far higher than it should be.

"No one alive in Haiti has experienced cholera before, so it's a population which is very susceptible to the bacteria," Mr Hartl said. "Once it is in water systems it transmits very easily.

"Cholera, now that it is in Haiti, probably the bacteria will be there for a number of years to come. It will not go away."

The cause of the outbreak in Haiti is unknown. The country had not seen cholera cases for decades before last month.

Poor sanitary conditions in many parts of the country, floods and mud flows associated with Hurricane Tomas, which swept past the Caribbean nation over the weekend, are likely to accelerate the spread of the disease, the UN Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said in an update. Additional hand washing stations and latrines are being installed in camps set up after the January 12 earthquake which devastated the country.

"The specific origin of this specific outbreak is something which probably will be investigated at some point, but what is important right now is the response on the ground," Mr Hartl said.