Cuban Medical Brigade Readies for Hurricane Emily HAITI, 03 August 2011.- In the face of the hurricane threat, the members of the Cuban Medical Brigade don't waste a second of their time. Cuban medical staff are ready to assist the possible victims of Hurricane Emily, which is expected to hit Haiti on Wednesday night. "Since the forecast shows that the hurricane could gain in organization and intensity, hitting Haiti as of Wednesday night and the capital city, Port-au-Prince, on Thursday, we have taken a series of measures to protect our personnel and guarantee the Haitian people medical attention," said Head of the Brigade Dr. Lorenzo Somarriba Lopez in an exclusive interview with Granma. He said that the evacuation plan is ready, especially for the Cuban personnel working in risk areas. Material resources and the houses where the Cuban doctors and nurses live and work have also been secured. Dr. Somarriba said that management centres had been activated at all levels and that the measures established for this stage of the hurricane threat had been taken, particularly those linked to the state of communications among all positions and with the General Coordination Office. Priority attention is being given the control of the cholera epidemic since the intense rains associated with the hurricane could cause new outbreaks. Up to Monday, Cuban medical staff had saved the lives of 75,478 cholera patients, with no deaths reported in the last 195 days, and had managed to reduce the mortality rate to 0.36 percent. On Sunday, Cuban health units treated 18 patients infected with cholera, 11 more than the previous day, probably due to increased rains in the departments of Sur, Artibonite, Noreste, Centro, Noroeste, Grand Anse and Sureste. Emily is the fifth hurricane of the season in the Atlantic. It developed on Monday in the Caribbean Sea. Numerous countries are already on the alert, including Puerto Rico, the Dominican Republic and Haiti. The Haiti Libre newspaper reported that the National Meteorological Center had issued a red alert given the proximity of the hurricane. The public has been warned about the risk of heavy rains, strong winds, landslides in mountain areas and floods, especially in connection with the extreme vulnerability of some departments. (Cubaminrex-PL)
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