Port-au-Prince on Tuesday reported its first suspected cases of cholera, although health officials here said there have been only "isolated" incidents of the illness which has killed more than 500 people elsewhere in Haiti.
Health Minister Ariel Henry told AFP that while there is no wide spread infection in the capital yet, a sizeable outbreak here now appears likely.
"It's coming," the health chief warned.
Henry said two deaths here believed to have been caused by cholera were being probed by health officials. Officials here have planned a press conference in Port-au-Prince later Tuesday to discuss the developments.
Health authorities fear that cholera could infiltrate the Port-au-Prince camps where hundreds of thousands of people bathe, wash and cook right next to each other, spreading like wildfire in the cramped and unsanitary conditions.
The Haitian capital for weeks had evaded the raging cholera epidemic, but Hurricane Tomas appears to have contributed to its arrival here, after the Artibonite River -- the presumed source of the outbreak -- overflowed its banks over the weekend.
In addition to hundreds of deaths in Haiti's provinces, the scourge has sent more than 8,000 people to the hospital.
Although easily treated, the water-borne bacterial disease has a short incubation period, sometimes just a few hours, and causes acute diarrhea that can quickly lead to severe dehydration and death.
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