PORT-AU-PRINCE, Haiti — Health authorities say they have confirmed the first case of cholera that appears to have been contracted here in the Haitian capital, The New York Times reports.

The case involves a 3-year-old boy living in a tent camp who was taken for emergency treatment of severe diarrhea and vomiting on Oct. 31. On Tuesday, the chief medical officer of the hospital where he was treated, Dr. Toni Eyssallenne, said in an interview that tests had come back positive for cholera. Unlike others suspected to be infected in capital, the boy had not been in the known cholera zone north of the capital or any of the area pockets of the country with confirmed cases.

Health workers have been urgently trying to stop the deadly cholera outbreak from getting worse after the torrential rains brought by Hurricane Tomas. The confirmed case occurred before the storm hit.

Still, the storm caused 21 deaths, destroyed 1,004 homes, and left 6,610 homeless, according to the Haitian government. And the heavy rains worsened conditions in the crowded tent cities around the capital, adding to the fears that the disease could erupt in the most vulnerable populations.

Read the entire story at nytimes.com