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Cholera outbreak hits Haiti

PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti, July 24 (UPI) -- Haitian healthcare officials say they're getting more than 1,000 new cases of cholera daily with the return of the rainy season.

Nearly 6,000 people have died since the cholera outbreak began in October, although many healthcare providers believe the number to be higher, the Los Angeles Times reported.

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"We are still in … an epidemic," said Jocelyne Pierre Louis, spokeswoman for Haiti's Ministry of Public Health.

Healthcare providers reported more than 1,000 new cases daily in June, Louis said.

Poor sanitation is the root problem in the spread of the disease, which is transmitted through contaminated water -- in a country with no central sewage or potable water systems, the Times said.

"If we want to make cholera disappear, it will be with water and sanitation," said Romain Gitenet, head of the Haiti mission for France-based Doctors Without Borders, which has opened cholera treatment centers across the country.

The sanitation issue got worse as a result of the Jan. 12, 2010, earthquake that left tens of thousands of Haitians homeless, the report said.

"The problem of sanitation can't be dealt with between today and tomorrow," Louis said.

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