Accelerating cholera prevention, preparedness, and control in East Africa through hotspot mapping, genotyping, exposure assessment, and WASH+OCV interventions

Cholera is a severe illness caused by bacteria that are contracted through drinking water or eating food contaminated with feces from an infected person. Cholera causes watery diarrhoea that can quickly lead to dehydration, loss of body salts and death if not treated promptly. The disease is endemic in parts of Africa where sanitation and clean water are not always available. In East Africa, the disease has appeared several times in a year in dry and wet conditions we do not fully understand the reasons for this cyclic upsurge in disease. 

Working with partners from Ministries of Health and city council health personnel, we aim to understand how transmission happens, most frequent strain-types in the mapped hotspots, and determine the most important exposure pathways. 

We will use the data to develop novel technologies that we can roll out through community engagement and partnerships for sustainable prevention and control of cholera.