Nepalese troops thought to be source of Haiti’s cholera outbreak

The Nepalese army’s chief medical officer has said none of Nepal’s soldiers serving with UN peacekeepers in Haiti was tested for cholera before being deployed. The statement comes after a Nepalese army spokesman rejected a report which suggested the Haitian epidemic was caused by river contamination from Nepalese troops. The medical officer, Brig Gen Dr Kishore Rana, said the UN did not require such a test unless a soldier had cholera symptoms. This contradicts previous statements by the Nepalese army which has maintained that all its troops were given a medical test, which included checking for cholera, before being deployed to Haiti in October. So far, Cholera has killed more than 2,000 Haitians, and the belief that the outbreak originates with UN troops has prompted anti-UN protests.

BBC News