Cholera confirmed in traveler from Haiti to Florida

Officials say she contracted the disease after visiting Haitian family

Published November 17, 2010 4:53PM (EST)

Florida health authorities are reporting the state's first case of cholera linked to the current outbreak in Haiti.

Dr. Thomas Torok of the Florida Department of Health said Wednesday the case involved a woman who had visited family near where the outbreak began last month. It has killed more than 1,000 people in Haiti.

Torok said the woman returned to Collier County and has recovered. Health officials said privacy laws prohibited them from releasing more information about her case.

The health department said other suspected cases of cholera were under investigation. Florida has a large Haitian community and doctors have been asked to report possible cholera in people who recently visited there.

But the department says the disease is unlikely to spread because of better sanitation in the U.S.


By Associated Press

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