c The number of cholera cases in Haiti spikes to 7,000, Russia's chief sanitary doctor said on Saturday.
At least four hundred people have died since the outbreak of cholera nine months after a devastating January 12 earthquake killed more than 220,000 people in Haiti.
"According to the Pan American bureau of the World Health Organization, Haitian cholera has claimed 442 lives with 6,742 cholera infections registered on the island," Gennady Onishchenko said.
Onishchenko said the hurricane that recently struck Haiti, had aggravated the situation since the drinking water supply systems were destroyed.
"Laboratory research show that Vibrio cholerae was brought in from south Asia, presumably by the peacekeepers from Nepal," Onishchenko said.
Russia keeps a close eye on its citizens coming from Haiti, the chief sanitary doctor said.
Cholera is a bacterial infection that spreads through contaminated water, causing severe diarrhea and vomiting that can lead to the dehydration and death within hours.
MOSCOW, November 6 (RIA Novosti)
