U.N. Linked to Haiti Cholera Outbreak

A United Nations-appointed panel said Wednesday that improper disposal of fecal matter at a U.N. peacekeepers’ mission was responsible for the cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed more than 4,500 people and infected some 300,000. The report found that a poor sanitation system was not able to prevent the contamination of a tributary of the Artibonite River. The panel said the bacteria originated outside Haiti, which suffered its first case of the disease in a century, and matched strains found in Nepal in 2009. The report said the “commonly held belief” that the peacemakers brought cholera over from Nepal could not be backed up, and says the lack of immunity to the disease also contributed to its fast spread.