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Haitian health officials worked on Monday to contain a cholera epidemic after statistics showed new infections had begun to taper off while the overall toll of cholera-related deaths rose above 250.

The new toll of 253 dead and 3,115 infections, provided by the director-general of Haiti's health department Gabriel Thimote, represented an increase of only 33 fatalities over a 24-hour period.

Foreign Minister Marie-Michele Rey told reporters the disease "is limited to a well-defined perimeter" in the northern region of Artibonite and part of the central plateau.

Speaking in Switzerland where she was attending a summit of French-speaking nations, Rey said that for the time being "those who are on the spot appear to be able to contain the situation".

But fears linger of a major health crisis should the outbreak infiltrate Port-au-Prince's squalid tent cities, where hundreds of thousands live in awful conditions after being displaced by January's earthquake. Cholera is primarily passed on through contaminated water or food and could spread like wildfire through the unsanitary tent cities, where displaced families bathe outside, do laundry and share meals in close quarters.

Only five people in the capital have been diagnosed with cholera so far and the UN's Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs said they had all traveled in from the epicenter of the outbreak in the Artibonite river area.

"These cases thus do not represent a spread of the epidemic because this is not a new location of infection," the UN body said, adding that the development was, however, "worrying".

Contamination of the Artibonite River, an artery crossing Haiti's rural center that thousands of people use for much of their daily activities, is believed to be the source of the epidemic. Regional health director Dieula Louissaint stressed the need to isolate patients to contain the spread of the disease, which, with its characteristic severe vomiting and diarrhea, can dehydrate and kill in a matter of hours.

去聽寫專區一展身手

（中國日報網英語點津 Helen 編輯）

About the broadcaster:

Lee Hannon is Chief Editor at China Daily with 15-years experience in print and broadcast journalism. Born in England, Lee has traveled extensively around the world as a journalist including four years as a senior editor in Los Angeles. He now lives in Beijing and is happy to move to China and join the China Daily team.