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07:58
Laboratory Techniques Used to Maintain and Differentiate Biotypes of Vibrio cholerae Clinical and Environmental Isolates
Published on: May 30, 2017
Understanding the cholera epidemic, Haiti
Renaud Piarroux1, Robert Barrais, Benoit Faucher
1Universite de la Mediterranee, Marseilles, France. renaud.piarroux@ap-hm.fr
Emerging Infectious Diseases
|July 19, 2011
Summary
Cholera spread rapidly in Haiti's Artibonite Department in 2010. Contaminated water from a military camp likely triggered the epidemic, severely affecting coastal plain communes.
Area of Science:
- Epidemiology
- Public Health
- Environmental Health
Background:
- A cholera epidemic began in Haiti in October 2010.
- The Artibonite Department experienced rapid disease expansion.
Purpose of the Study:
- Identify communes most affected by the cholera epidemic.
- Analyze spatiotemporal patterns and risk factors for cholera spread.
- Investigate the causes of the epidemic's rapid expansion in the Artibonite Department.
Main Methods:
- Field investigations and daily case data collection.
- Spatiotemporal cluster analysis.
- Regression modeling to assess risk factors.
Main Results:
- Five significant cholera clusters were identified (p<0.001).
- Cholera disproportionately affected communes in the coastal plain and along the Artibonite River downstream of Mirebalais.
- Risk ratios were 4.91 for coastal plain communes and 4.60 for communes downstream of Mirebalais.
Conclusions:
- The study strongly suggests that contamination of the Artibonite River and a tributary from a military camp triggered the epidemic.
- Deficient sanitation near a United Nations camp was associated with an early cluster.
- Spatiotemporal analyses revealed both localized and centrifugal spread patterns.
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