QUAKE-HIT HAITI BATTLES CHOLERA EPIDEMIC

Haiti's government and its aid partners are fighting to contain an epidemic that has killed at least 250 people in the nation's worst medical emergency since the January 12 earthquake.

President Rene Preval had confirmed cholera was the cause of the acute diarrhoea that overwhelmed hospitals in central Haiti in recent days with weakened, dehydrated patients. He said "This disease is very dangerous. It can kill in three hours because once the diarrhea starts it doesn't stop." He told they were concerned about the speed with which it had spread and they were making sure people were fully aware of precautionary measures they had to take to prevent contamination.

The World Health Organisation (WHO) said the virulent diarrhoeal disease, which had affected more than 1,500 people in central Haiti, would be the first cholera epidemic in a century in the disaster-prone Caribbean nation, already the poorest country in the Western Hemisphere. Cholera usually comes from consuming water or food contaminated by cholera bacteria and is not likely to spread from person to person. But outbreaks could be potentially explosive among malnourished or displaced people living in unsanitary, crowded conditions.

The health authorities urged people not to panic and warned the population to regularly wash their hands, not to eat raw vegetables, to boil all food and drinking water, and to avoid bathing in and drinking from rivers. They informed the deadly dehydration caused by cholera could be easily treated by drinking boiled water mixed with sugar and salt.

Haitian officials said some cholera victims from the latest outbreak had been reported in Port-au-Prince so far though the worst-affected areas were in the central region and zones around Saint-Marc.

vocabulary

1. There are some words in green in the text. Choose 2 of them and write a synonym, an opposite, a definition or a sentence.
   
2. Match these words from the text to their definition.
   

disaster-prone / outbreaks / malnourished / raw / deadly

* Causing or able to cause fatal injury or serious damage.

* A sudden eruption of anger, war, disease, etc

* Likely to suffer.

* Uncooked.

* Not being provided with adequate nourishment.

comprehension

1. Say if these sentences about the text are true or false. Don't forget to copy the evidence from the text.
   

Health authorities have recommended the population how to avoid the cholera contamination.

People living under unsanitary conditions are more likely to get diseases like cholera.

what would you say in these situations?

1. You don't feel well. Your mother calls the doctor's surgery to fix an appointment.
   
2. You are at school, you feel dizzy and you think you are going to fall. Ask the teacher for help.
   

Listening

Melanie Teff, an advocate for Refugees International spoke with Matt Frei about the organization's work in Haiti and its report on conditions there ten months on from the devastating earthquake that ravaged the island.

Watch this video and answer the following questions:

What is life on the camps like?

Which are some of the problems refugees are facing in the camps?

Which two groups are in charge of Haiti's community security?

What is needed to improve the camps situation?