Haiti reels as cholera outbreak spreads throughout island

About a month after a cholera outbreak started spreading in Haiti, the death toll for the disease has risen to 917. This has proved to be an especially tough break for the island nation, which experienced a historic earthquake in January (which killed more than 230,000 Haitians and displaced about 1.3 million).

According to the United Nations, up to 200,000 Haitians could become infected by this recent outbreak. Complicating an already bad situation, most Haitians do not have access to either clean water or reliable sanitation.

The New York Theological Seminary is an institution dedicated to multiculturalism, diversity, social justice and religious tolerance. The mission of the seminary is to prepare men and women, from every walk of life, for careers in ministry.

Cholera outbreak spreads throughout quake-ravaged Haiti

Having already survived a landmark Jan. 12 earthquake and subsequent hurricane, as well as tropical storms, the island republic of Haiti has a new concern.

According to published reports, Haiti is experiencing a cholera outbreak that has claimed the lives of about 200 people thus far, while afflicting approximately 2,000 Haitians. Public health officials have fears that the epidemic will spread to the nation's capital, Port-au-Prince.

Haitian Medical Association President Claude Surena said there are already 2.4 million living in dangerous situations and this epidemic poses a substantial threat to them. Cholera is a disease that dehydrates people, with frequent diarrhea, among other symptoms. Haiti last experienced a cholera outbreak about a century ago. The disease is associated with standing and fetid water.

The New York Theological Seminary is an institution dedicated to social justice, multiculturalism, diversity and religious tolerance. The mission of the seminary is to prepare men and women, from every background, for careers in ministry.