A 19th-century plague has descended on Haiti, sending entire communities fleeing since Hurricane Matthew struck in October. Two hundred years ago this same disease rode into China and Afghanistan along trade routes. It incited riots in Russia. It sailed tore through tenements in Paris, London and New York. In following decades it resurfaced in waves until its apparent retreat.
In Haiti and beyond, cholera is back. Not only is it better adapted to the modern world but its resurgence following the hurricane shows how it may grow stronger as our climate changes.
Untreated, a person stricken with cholera in the morning can die in the afternoon — but a simple and inexpensive treatment can reduce a victim’s chance of death to less than 1 per cent. Yet cholera has been able to kill thousands in Haiti and infect hundreds of thousands more because the poverty and destruction that can spread it impede access to timely treatment. Cholera arrived in Haiti after the devastating earthquake of 2010; Hurricane Matthew has compounded the problem by spreading contaminated water.
The persistence of the disease in Haiti is a tragedy but it is not random. It is part of a larger global pattern of cholera re-emergence. Hurricane Matthew reveals the impact severe weather can have. More subtle environmental changes may have helped it take hold in Haiti in the first place — and may help other diseases thrive worldwide.
https://www.ft.com/content/33e07bdc-a5c4-11e6-8898-79a99e2a4de6
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