An emergency room doctor is heading to Haiti to help people affected by the recent cholera outbreak — and she is appealing for support.

Tiffany Keenan, a physician at King Edward VII Memorial Hospital, will journey to the Caribbean nation on November 21 to help a team of doctors at a clinic she runs who are dealing with a growing number of cholera cases.

Cholera is a bacterial disease spread through contaminated water which can lead to dehydration from vomiting and diarrhoea. According to the Centre for Disease Control the fatality rate is nearly one in 12.

Since arriving in Haiti on October 27, the team of three doctors and two non-medical volunteers from Canada has tried to treat 50 or more people a day. So far two people have died from cholera, including a nine-year-old child and 25-year-old man who died en route to the nearest hospital.

The outbreak is the third catastrophe to hit the third world country, including an earthquake on January 12 and a hurricane which hit on October 30 and 31.

According to Dr. Keenan, who founded the charity Haiti Village Health in 2007, the staff and volunteers at the clinic are "overwhelmed".

"You know when the earthquake hit we thought this was it and we would just deal with this disaster. We knew there would be infectious disease coming, but cholera is such a highly fatal disease when people get it.

"People are almost left a bit stunned. They don't know what to do next. You wonder just why Haiti is just taking one hit after another."

The physician said such tragedies may serve to draw more international attention to the country. "Maybe it is just another cry for help that people need to remember that Haiti cannot be forgotten," she added.

Dr. Keenan is appealing for donations, which will help the charity pay for supplies, staffing, and transportation to shuttle people to the hospital, which is 30 to 45 minutes away from the clinic.

She said every donation will go a long way and explained that a bag of intravenous solution for rehydration costs 50 cents to one dollar and "that literally could save a life".

"Sometimes I just kind of feel like I run out of words to say because I just see it happening so quickly.

"People are in the midst of it and it is getting worse day by day. You feel the fear they have.

"We live in fear here in Bermuda, sometimes of guns or violence, but they are in fear of just having clean water. So when you put it in that perspective it just makes you think."

She said while the country did not have good governmental infrastructure or support, she was always inspired by the people.

"I have so many good friends in Haiti right now. I have a nurse in training and a doctor in training, and they want to help their country change.

"And it gives you so much hope when you see that they believe in their country and I believe in them that they are good people and they want to live in a better nation, because that is what we all want."

To get more information on Dr. Keenan's charity Haiti Village Health visit www.haitivillagehealth.ca.

You can also donate any cash through HSBC account number 010 871135 001.