Cholera epidemic reaches Haiti capital

An epidemic of cholera that has ravaged northern and central Haiti has reached the country's densely populated capital, according to UN officials.

The Pan American Health Organization said in a statement late Saturday that the Haitian Public Health Ministry's "national reference laboratory today confirmed cases in Ouest Department, including Port-au-Prince."

No specific number of cholera cases in Port-au-Prince was given.

The sudden cholera epidemic has in recent days killed 220 people, mainly in northern Haiti, and sent officials scrambling to contain a wider outbreak 10 months after an earthquake devastated the Caribbean nation.

Hundreds of thousands of people are still living in impoverished tent cities, particularly around Port-au-Prince, where sanitation is poor and where relief groups say the diarrhea-causing illness could spread rapidly.