Haiti Earthquake Could Trigger Possible Medical "Perfect Storm" (Current Event)

Though 50,000 people have been estimated dead from tuesday's 7.0 magnitude earthquake, there are more, protentially larger problems are yet to come. Haiti's medical system wasn't very well established before the earthquake, and it is now crippled. Breakdown in housing, sewage, and lack of clean drinking water are major concerns. Experts say that diarrheal infections, diarrheal diseases including typhoid fever and cholera, along with bacterial infections such as shigellosis (which causes diarrhea) and salmonella enterocolitis (a common type of food poisoning) may lead to the deaths of tens to hundreds of thousand of survivors if they do not get help. Dr. Peter Holtez, of George Washington University Medical Center, is able to think positively of the situation despite the obvious tragedy. "I have the hope this situation may lead to improvements, because it's bringing lots of attention and help to the area," Kaplan said. "There's that silver lining."