Health authorities in the Dominican Republic have warned that there are now 17 cases of cholera registered in a new outbreak after adding four more in the last day.
The Ministry of Health has confirmed four new cases and explained that the measures adopted to halt the spread of the disease, caused by the presence of a bacterium in contaminated food or water, will be maintained.
Dr. Gina Estrella Ramia, director of Risk and Disaster Management of the Ministry, explained that the operation is focused on the areas of La Zurza and Capotillo, in Santo Domingo, the capital, where both symptomatic and asymptomatic patients have been monitored.
Of the 68 tests carried out randomly, «we only have four positive tests,» he said. «Two of them in asymptomatic patients and two in patients admitted to the hospital,» he pointed out.
He also confirmed that waste management measures are being taken to improve water quality in the most affected areas.
For his part, the Vice-Minister of Health, Eladio Pérez, regretted that cholera has wreaked havoc in neighboring Haiti, where more than 24,000 contagions and 450 deaths have been reported, according to the newspaper ‘El Nacional’.
«The more the epidemiological curve develops in the neighboring country, the more likely it is that it will spread to ours,» he warned.
Source: (EUROPA PRESS)
