THE CHOLERA EPIDEMIC in Haiti has claimed more than 900 lives – and epidemiologists has said that the worst is yet to come.

The Ministry of Health in Haiti had counted 917 deaths at the start of last weekend and the country’s hospitals are straining under the weight of more than 14,600 patients suffering from the disease.

However, the New York Times is quoting epidemiologists who say that the disease has not yet peaked in the devastated Caribbean country. If anything, it is likely to get worse and spread to other regions outside the six (out of 10) Haitian provinces already affected.

A spokesman for the International Organization for Migration, which is distributing water purification tablets and cleaning supplies, has said the very basic conditions in the country are not helping matters.

When we go around and give advice about hygiene, they say, ‘Let me have soap, I can’t afford it,

said Leonard Doyle of the group. The UN is looking to put in place an $89 million plan to provide sanitation and clean water services to the country which was hit by  a devastating earthquake in January of this year.