Some interesting quotes on the outbreak of cholera in Haiti

1. On the source of infection

“I think it’s very unfortunate to look for a scapegoat. It is an environmental phenomenon that is involved. The reason we don’t know [the catalyst] is because the medical community is not receptive to climactic causation or correlation.”-Dr. Rita Colwell, University of Maryland

“A single source — such as the UN peacekeepers camp — would not have caused such a massive and rapid spread of cholera” - Dr. Rita Colwell (http://humanosphere.kplu.org/2010/11/experts-say-un-did-not-bring-cholera-to-haiti-it-was-already-there)

“Cholera was originally in the Artibonite River”- Emmanuelle Schneider of the United Nations Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs

"Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium responsible for cholera, may have been dormant in water until weather-related conditions caused it to multiply enough to constitute an infective dose if ingested by humans,"- Dr. David Sack, Johns Hopkins University Bloomberg School of Public Health

However, not everyone is convinced….

“the idea that a microbe so closely resembling a South Asian strain would emerge in Haitian waters is “frankly absurd” - Dr. Matthew Waldor of Harvard Medical School

"Human activity coming from a far-away place brought this strain to Haiti"-Dr. John Mekalanos, Harvard Medical school

"It started in the centre of the country, not by the sea, nor in the refugee camps. The epidemic can't be of local origin. That's to say, it was imported,"- Dr.Renaud Piarroux, French epidemiologist

2. On whether the peacekeepers were tested for any infections

“There is no contamination on the base. We have conducted several tests, and all of them have come negative” -Vincenzo Pugliese, deputy spokesman of the the U.N. Stabilisation Mission in Haiti on the report that cholera outbreak in Haiti was caused by river contamination by Nepalese troops

"We strongly condemn the making of such allegations with no firm evidence or facts"- Ramindra Chhetri, Nepal Army Brigadier General and the army spokesman on the report that cholera outbreak in Haiti was caused by river contamination by Nepalese troops

“Before they selected for peacekeeping deployment, the peacekeepers have to go through strong health vetting. There is no possibility of any infection in the new batch of soldiers as they have to undergo a ‘through medical checkup’ before participating in the peace keeping mission,”- Ramindra Chhetri, Nepal Army Brigadier General

Different voices were also heard….

None of Nepal's soldiers serving with UN peacekeepers in Haiti was tested for cholera before they went- Brig Gen Dr Kishore Rana, the Nepalese army's chief medical officer (http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-south-asia-11949181)

3. On whether it is important to know the source of infection

“The question of how it came here is not central in Haiti. What's central is making sure people do not die and know how not to get sick.” – Dr. Robert Tauxe, deputy director of the Division of Foodborne, Waterborne and Environmental Diseases for the CDC

“If an epidemic killed 4000 people in Europe or the U.S., we would want to know exactly where it came from. So why not when the same happens in Haiti?”-Dr.Renaud Piarroux      

Next- ‘Autochthonous V. cholerae theory’ is wrong in 2010. Was it correct in 1991?