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Deadly River: Cholera and Cover-Up in Post-Earthquake Haiti
Ralph R. Frerichs
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Description for Deadly River: Cholera and Cover-Up in Post-Earthquake Haiti
Hardback. Series: The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work. Num Pages: 320 pages, 6 black & white illustrations, 4 maps, 1 charts. BIC Classification: 1KJH; JFFC; MBNH2; MJCJ. Category: (G) General (US: Trade). Dimension: 229 x 152 x 25. Weight in Grams: 571.
In October 2010, nine months after the massive earthquake that devastated Haiti, a second disaster began to unfold—soon to become the world's largest cholera epidemic in modern times. In a country that had never before reported cholera, the epidemic mysteriously and simultaneously appeared in river communities of central Haiti, eventually triggering nearly 800,000 cases and 9,000 deaths. What had caused the first cases of cholera in Haiti in recorded history? Who or what was the deadly agent of origin? Why did it explode in the agricultural-rich delta of the Artibonite River? When answers were few, rumors spread, causing social and ... Read morepolitical consequences of their own. Wanting insight, the Haitian government and French embassy requested epidemiological assistance from France. A few weeks into the epidemic, physician and infectious disease specialist Renaud Piarroux arrived in Haiti.
In Deadly River, Ralph R. Frerichs tells the story of the epidemic, of a French disease detective determined to trace its origins so that he could help contain the spread and possibly eliminate the disease, and the political intrigue that has made that effort so difficult. The story involves political maneuvering by powerful organizations such as the United Nations and its peacekeeping troops in Haiti, as well as by the World Health Organization and the U.S. Centers for Disease Control. Frerichs explores a quest for scientific truth and dissects a scientific disagreement involving world-renowned cholera experts who find themselves embroiled in intellectual and political turmoil in a poverty-stricken country.
Frerichs's narrative highlights how the world's wealthy nations, nongovernmental agencies, and international institutions respond when their interests clash with the needs of the world's most vulnerable people. The story poses big social questions and offers insights not only on how to eliminate cholera in Haiti but also how nations, NGOs, and international organizations such as the UN and CDC deal with catastrophic infectious disease epidemics. Learn more at http://www.deadlyriver.com
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Product Details
Publisher
Cornell University Press United States
Series
The Culture and Politics of Health Care Work
Place of Publication
Ithaca, United States
Shipping Time
Usually ships in 7 to 11 working days
About Ralph R. Frerichs
Ralph R. Frerichs is Professor Emeritus of Epidemiology at UCLA.
Reviews for Deadly River: Cholera and Cover-Up in Post-Earthquake Haiti
All public health students should read this book for two reasons: first, for the in-depth story of the scientific investigation of the source of the epidemic; and second, for the story of the political resistance and barriers, both powerful and subtle,that Piarroux encountered.... The description of Piarroux's investigation is fascinating.
Laura Price
International Quarterly of Community Health Education ... Read more
The CDC discouraged journalists from asking about the epidemic's origin, telling them that pinpointing the source was 'not productive,’ ‘not central,’ and would likely never happen. Its epidemiologists did provide a key detail early on, when they identified the strain in Haiti as having a recent South Asian origin—meaning it could have come from Nepal and not from South America, Africa, or anywhere else cholera was circulating at the time. The CDC refused to take environmental samples from around the [UN Peacekeepers] base or test the soldiers during the small window when doing either would have been worthwhile. All of this detailed in a damning new book by Ralph R. Frerichs called Deadly River..
Jonathan M. Katz
Slate
Frerichs, a retired epidemiologist and professor emeritus of epidemiology at the University of California, Los Angeles, has written a damning account of the political and health professional response to the cholera epidemic that broke out in Haiti in October 2010... He does so from an epidemiologist’s perspective and with a clear focus on the Haiti case. Yet, his account is written for and accessible to a wider readership and also highly relevant for students of global (health) politics.
Tine Hanrieder, Dr rer pol, University of Bremen
Cambridge Review of International Affairs
Ralph Frerichs’s Deadly River is, in no small part, an object lesson on the manner in which maps make sense of chaos in the midst of complex world events.... Frerichs’s focus, and indeed his passion, lies with the microbial world and its periodic attacks on humankind.
Cartographic Perspectives
Ralph R. Frerichs' compelling Deadly River tells the story of Haiti's 2010 cholera epidemic, the worst in recent history. The book is a detective story that documents how epidemiologists and others sought to quantify, decode, and combat cholera, and provides a firsthand look at the politics of medical humanitarianism.
PoLAR
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