Authorities moved speedily to ensure there is no spread of cholera, after confirming that one illegal immigrant had the potentially deadly infection, Minister of Health Dr. Hubert Minnis said yesterday.

Minnis confirmed that the Carmichael Road Detention Centre was being sanitized and some of the immigrants who had been housed at the facility were given medication as a preventative measure.

The others were repatriated, including the immigrant with the confirmed case of cholera, according to the minister.

The Nassau Guardian reported yesterday that detainees at the detention centre were relocated to Her Majesty's Prison.  It was not clear how long they will be there.

The immigrant who had cholera was aboard a vessel detained by the Royal Bahamas Defence Force in late September, Minnis said.

"One was determined to be ill and cholera suspected. The individual is no longer in the country.   [He was] treated, cured of cholera and subsequently deported. Because the individual would have been in certain facilities like the detention centre, we would have had to empty the center and subsequently do the necessary anti-cholera treatment to the cure the place," he said.

Minnis said, "...from day one we had suspected one of the individuals had cholera."

The cholera test was sent to Trinidad and Tobago, which is the Pan American Health Organization (PAHO)-certified laboratory facility for the region.

"Only that one individual to our knowledge had cholera and he was treated appropriately," Minnis said.

"At no time was he within the community, so the community would not have been at risk. Once we manage the facility according to international regulations...we would have no problem opening the facility."

He added that all of the detainees were screened and given prophylactic medication to ensure that there was no possibility for them to become infected.

"All individuals on the vessel would have been given prophylactic treatment. The vessel would have undergone the same anti-cholera treatment as the detention centre."

He said he did not know how long it would take to treat the center.

When asked about the kind of devastation a cholera outbreak could have on The Bahamas, the minister gave an example of a case in Peru.

"In 1992 there was a cholera case in Peru, one case, and Peru's tourism industry suffered devastation," he said.  "It lost over $500 million. Cholera can be very devastating."

Cholera, which is normally easy to treat and can be prevented, can also be deadly.  It is a bacterial infection that is spread through water and food (mainly shellfish).

The infection caused a major crisis in Haiti over the past year. More than 420,000 people in and around Port-au-Prince were impacted during an outbreak in which more than 6,000 people died.

Minnis noted that the government is focused on fighting illegal immigration, but cannot stop it.

"Therefore, from time to time the country could possibly be at risk for introduction to cholera or other [ailments]," he said.

Minnis stressed that every Bahamian has an obligation to report any vessels or illegals who try to enter The Bahamas.

"Each and every citizen has a responsibility," he said.

"You don't take chances when it comes to cholera."

Click here to read more at The Nassau Guardian