The Ministry of Public Health installed two mobile hospital units on Tuesday, 20 December 2022 in the La Zurza slum area, beside the Isabela River in northern National District. The Ministry has confirmed six cases of cholera among the residents in the slum area. The tents are to provide prompt medical attention to any area resident. If cases merit, then the patients will be sent to a hospital.
The problem in this area is that it does not have a drainage system nor residual waters discharge system, with untreated human feces entering into the river waters.
The lack of drainage systems is the main source of contamination because most of the people who discharge their toilets directly into the ravines which then feed the Isabela River.
The Ministry of Public Health has instructed residents to not bathe in the river waters nor use these for household chores.
The Ministry of Public Health has also made available drinking water for the use of the residents in the slum area. Ministry of Public Health staff are perusing the area, going house by house to detect possible victims of the disease. The first cases in the Dominican Republic were of recent arrivals from Haiti where there is a major outbreak of the disease, worsened by the present multidimensional crisis.
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Noticias SIN
Diario Libre
El Dia
21 December 2022