PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti - Health authorities in Haiti have begun a campaign to vaccinate 800,000 people for cholera in areas hit hardest by Hurricane Matthew.
Ministry of Health nurses are administering the oral medication in the southwestern departments of Sud and Grand' Anse. There have been around 3,500 suspected cases of the water-borne illness since the hurricane. The vaccine provides about six months of protection.
The Pan American Health Organization said Wednesday that international organizations are also assisting with the distribution of clean water, sanitation and treatment for an illness that has killed 10,000 in Haiti since October 2010.
Hurricane Matthew has created ideal conditions for the spread of cholera by destroying water supplies and forcing people who lost homes to squeeze into overcrowded shelters. The government says the storm killed 546 people.
