In January 2010, a devastating earthquake struck Haiti about 15 miles west of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The earthquake killed over 200,000 people and displaced over 1 million from their homes. Many of these people had nowhere to go other than displacement camps and shantytowns, where the sanitary conditions were less than ideal. It was not only private homes that were destroyed; hospitals, communication networks, land and air transport, and other important infrastructure were damaged.
In October 2010, a cholera epidemic was reported in the Artibonite Department (Haitian departments are analogous to states). This was the first cholera epidemic in Haiti in over a century. Within 10 weeks, cholera had spread to all Haitian departments. By the end of the epidemic, more than 470,000 cases had been reported, and more than 6500 people were dead.
Both during and after the epidemic, epidemiologists, doctors, and scientists were working to determine the source of the outbreak and its transmission patterns, identify the causative strains, and care for the infected.
1. Given that cholera had never been officially reported in Haiti, what are some possible sources of the pathogen? List and briefly describe at least two possible sources.
2. Imagine you are an epidemiologist sent to investigate the cholera outbreak in Haiti. List four types of data that you would want to collect and briefly describe how the data are useful.
3. Formulate a hypothesis about how the cholera epidemic could have been initiated in Haiti.
4. What evidence would you look for to support this hypothesis? How would you test this hypothesis?
5. In August 2016, the United Nations discussed the origins of the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti. What was ultimately determined to have been the likely cause of the initial outbreak in 2010?
6. Propose three epidemic control measures for cholera in Haiti.
In January 2010, a devastating earthquake struck Haiti about 15 miles west of the capital city of Port-au-Prince. The earthquake killed over 200,000 people and displaced over 1 million from their homes. Many of these people had nowhere to go other than displacement camps and shantytowns, where the sanitary conditions were less than ideal. It was not only private homes that were destroyed; hospitals, communication networks, land and air transport, and other important infrastructure were damaged.
In October 2010, a cholera epidemic was reported in the Artibonite Department (Haitian departments are analogous to states). This was the first cholera epidemic in Haiti in over a century. Within 10 weeks, cholera had spread to all Haitian departments. By the end of the epidemic, more than 470,000 cases had been reported, and more than 6500 people were dead.
Both during and after the epidemic, epidemiologists, doctors, and scientists were working to determine the source of the outbreak and its transmission patterns, identify the causative strains, and care for the infected.
1. Given that cholera had never been officially reported in Haiti, what are some possible sources of the pathogen? List and briefly describe at least two possible sources.
2. Imagine you are an epidemiologist sent to investigate the cholera outbreak in Haiti. List four types of data that you would want to collect and briefly describe how the data are useful.
3. Formulate a hypothesis about how the cholera epidemic could have been initiated in Haiti.
4. What evidence would you look for to support this hypothesis? How would you test this hypothesis?
5. In August 2016, the United Nations discussed the origins of the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti. What was ultimately determined to have been the likely cause of the initial outbreak in 2010?
6. Propose three epidemic control measures for cholera in Haiti.
