What about Cholera & RMI’s Ministries?

You have probably heard that cholera has broken out in Haiti in the last couple of weeks. We wanted to address your concerns about what it is, where it is, the treatment and more importantly that our staff, missionaries and teams are safe.

First, here is a map of Haiti, showing where the current outbreak is located (the Artibonite area) and where Les, Cayes, RMI’s headquarters, is located. It is more than 150 miles away. The Haitian government and aid agencies are vigorously working to isolate the breakout areas, educate people on cleanliness, provide clean drinking water and to treat those that are ill. There have been 5 confirmed illnesses in the capital, Port-au-Prince, but they are all people that had recently traveled from the Artibonite area. Thus far, no cases have been discovered south of Port-au-Prince.

Cholera is rightly called a disease of poverty. It is true. Cholera spreads because, and only because, of poverty. The two essential components for the spread of cholera are lack of access to clean water and sanitation and lack of access to information about how to protect yourself. Even if cases of cholera found their way out of Haiti and made it to the US, the conditions do not exist in our country to allow for an epidemic to take hold.

Wikipedia states, “Cholera^[1] is an infection of the small intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The main symptoms are profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting and abdominal pain. Transmission is primarily through contaminated drinking water or food. The severity of the diarrhea and vomiting can lead to rapid dehydration and electrolyte imbalance. Primary treatment is with oral or intravenous rehydration solutions. Antibiotics may be beneficial, and in certain cases they are used. Cholera is a major cause of death in the world.”

Missionary doctor, Dr. Jim Wilkins, who works at a hospital just south of the capital, shared that the main loss of life is from losing fluids too quickly and not getting them replaced. Especially at risk is small children, pregnant women, the elderly, and those who are already weak or sick. Oral rehydration drinks with salts & sugar in them and/or IV rehydration is the best, quickest and most effective treatment. Prevention is the key to keep it from spreading: clean water, frequent hand washing, using toilets/outhouses instead of in rivers or water sources and proper food preparation. It seems that the rate of new cases is beginning to slow down.

At this point, RMI’s staff, missionaries and teams are far removed from exposure to the Cholera area. The water that we supply our visiting teams with is from the mission center, which operates its own clean, capped & chlorinated well and water system. It is almost the only place in Haiti that you can actually drink water out of the tap. Our staff also travel with oral rehydration packets in it’s first aid kit should someone get sick. It’s not very tasty, but it does the trick and makes you feel much better in a short time.

All this said, we are definitely taking the appearance of Cholera in the country very seriously. We will not knowingly put a team at risk of exposure. If you have any questions, feel free to call RMI, toll free, at 877-RMI-5439.

Pray for Haiti. As difficult things hit the country, we keep thinking, “This country can’t take any more!”, yet things continue to happen. Pray for the missionaries, doctors and ministries that are in the Artibonite area. Ask God to halt this terrible disease and keep it from spreading.