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Study shows UN Peacekeepers brought Cholera to Haiti: 5,500 dead; 363,000 ill
Mon, Sep 19, 2011 - 10:26 AM
http://conflicthealth.com/study-confirms-un-blue-helmets-caused-cholera-epidemic-in-haiti/
Study Confirms UN Blue Helmets Caused Cholera Epidemic In Haiti
by Christopher R. Albon on August 24, 2011
It has long been suspected that Nepalese peacekeepers serving under UN mission in Haiti (MINUSTAH) were the cause of a devastating cholera epidemic that killed more than 6000 people and made more than 300,000 fall ill. Immediately after the epidemic, the United Nations denied that peacekeepers were to blame, arguing in November that “from a medical point of view, there has been no direct connection established between cholera and this contingent of soldiers”. However, mounting scientific evidence has eroded that claim. In May, a panel appointed by the Secretary-General concluded that the Nepalese peacekeepers were the cause of the epidemic. Furthermore, last month a study in the CDC’s Infectious Diseases journal tracked the outbreak back to the MINUSTAH camp in Meille, Haiti where the Nepalese peacekeepers were based.
Now, a new study provides definitive proof of the Nepalese peacekeepers’ involvement in the cholera epidemic. The article, Population Genetics of Vibrio cholerae from Nepal in 2010: Evidence on the Origin of the Haitian Outbreak, in the open-access (i.e. not gated) journal mBIO, collected bacterial samples from 24 cholera patients around Nepal and compared their genomes to those of ten previously studied cholera genomes, including three from Haitian patients. Their results: the genomes of the Haitian and Nepalese cholera strains are nearly identical. The study provides conclusive evidence that the strain of cholera found in Haiti originated in Nepal.
It is unclear what practical effects the study will have on the ground in Haiti. Given that the Nepalese cholera strain is likely to continue to impact the health of Haitians for years — even decades — to come, the damage to the reputation of the UN peacekeepers in Haiti has already been done. Hopefully this new study will prompt the UN to increase anti-cholera efforts in the beleaguered country and to give serious thought about how to prevent peacekeepers from being unwitting disease vectors in the future.
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