Outbreak of cholera in Haiti claims 135 lives

The death toll from an outbreak of suspected cholera in the Caribbean island of Haiti has risen to 135 as hundreds of sickened people in central Haiti overwhelmed a crowded hospital seeking treatment.

Health officials in the impoverished country are struggling to contain the disease that left more than 1,500 of others in need of urgent medical attention in the rural central region.

The infected are reportedly suffering from acute fever, vomiting and diarrhea.

The government has not yet confirmed the cause of the deadliest outbreak. The diagnosis is pending laboratory tests for cholera, typhoid and other illnesses, reports say, RTTNews reports.

According to laboratory analysis, it is cholera, "said Claude Suren, president of the doctors in Haiti, in a statement to Agence France Presse. Suren also announced a government statement on the epidemic. "We recorded most of the victims along the Artibonite river which runs through the center and north of the country.

This is an epidemic due to water used in homes in those areas," said Dr. Ariel AFP Henry, director of the Ministry of Health of Haiti.

The epidemic of cholera was confirmed in the evening by a source from the Ministry of Health, based on the early results of tests carried out after the deaths. The government convened an urgent meeting with health authorities, Daily News Engine informs.