An outbreak of cholera was to blame for dozens of deaths in Haiti in recent days, a health official said Thursday.
"The first results from the lab tests show that there is cholera, but we don't know which type," an official from the public health ministry told AFP, asking to remain anonymous.
"The government and the health authorities are meeting at the moment and an announcement will be made," he added.
Health officials said earlier that at least 50 people had died from acute diarrhea and hundreds were being treated in local hospitals as laboratory tests were carried out to determine the cause of the illness.
The outbreak of illness was outside the capital, which was ravaged by a devastating 7.0 earthquake in January, leaving more than 250,000 people dead and another 1.2 million homeless.
Cholera is transmitted by water but also by food that has been in contact with unclean water contaminated with by cholera bacteria.
It causes serious diarrhea and vomiting, leading to dehydration. With a short incubation period, it can be fatal if not treated in time.
The World Health Organization says on its website that "cholera is an extremely virulent disease. It affects both children and adults and can kill within hours."
Aid agencies have voiced fears for months that any outbreak of disease could spread rapidly in Haiti due to the unsanitary conditions in the makeshift camps housing the homeless, with little access to clean water.
The impoverished Caribbean nation has also been hit in recent days by severe flooding, adding to the misery of those struggling to survive in the scores of tent cities now dotting the country.
cre/jkb/ag
COPYRIGHT 2002 Agence France-Presse. All rights reserved.