Haiti cholera deaths 'near 300': Is that a biologocal attack?

Health officials in Haiti say nearly 300 people are now known to have died in a cholera outbreak in the country.Although the number of new cases has slowed, hundreds more infections were reported on Tuesday.

According to BBC News, the UN and aid agencies are boosting prevention efforts in and around the capital, Port-au-Prince, with a public information campaign on hygiene. Experts say that after a long absence from Haiti, cholera could now "settle" and become endemic.

The UN said 25 more people had died of the disease on Tuesday, bringing the total to 284. The number of reported cases now stands at 3,612.

Health experts say they expect the outbreak will soon lessen but the disease will eventually join malaria and tuberculosis in becoming endemic in Haiti.

"It's normal that we should expect a settlement of cholera in Haiti nationwide over the coming months," Dr Michel Thieren of the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO) told Reuters news agency.

But Haiti's President Rene Preval has said he was sure the country has been subjected to a biological attack aimed to eventually destablize the situation in the country.