Cholera deaths at 643 in Haiti

Port-au-Prince, Agency
A total of 643 people have died in Haiti in the cholera epidemic that is spreading throughout the impoverished Caribbean country, health officials said Wednesday.

A total of 9,971 people have been hospitalized for the often-fatal disease, the first cases of which were registered on Oct. 19.

In Ouest province, where Port-au-Prince is located, 42 people have died, one of them in the teeming slum of Cite Soleil, on the northern edge of the capital.

In referring to Port-au-Prince, the Public Health Ministry report dated Nov. 8 also makes mention of the Carrefour, Delmas, Petion Ville, Kenscoff and Tabarre neighborhoods around the capital as areas where cholera has been detected.

Since the start of the epidemic, 450 people have died in Artibonite province, which is the region of the country that has been hit hardest by the disease.

In Artibonite, at least 7,352 people have been hospitalized to be treated for cholera.

Nord province is currently in second place with 59 deaths and 600 hospitalizations.

In the country's Central Plateau area - or Centre province - in the east, where the first cases arose, 48 people have died, while 721 have been admitted to hospitals for treatment.

Meanwhile, in Nord-Ouest province, there have been 44 deaths and 593 hospitalizations.