EpidemicsAnthrax forensics help ID source of Haitian cholera outbreak
Researchers have discovered the source of the deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed more than 6,000 people and sickened 300,000; the study determined that Nepalese peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti, when they came to assist the country’s rebuilding efforts following the massive earthquake in January 2010
Researchers have discovered the source of the deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti that killed more than 6,000 people and sickened 300,000.
The study, led by the Translational Genomics Research Institute and the Technical University of Denmark, determined that Nepalese peacekeepers brought cholera to Haiti, when they came to assist the country’s rebuilding efforts following the massive earthquake in January 2010.
Using whole genome sequencing, which spells out the billions of chemical bases in DNA, the researchers were able to compare the specific strain of cholera affecting Haitians with those in Nepal, where the disease is rampant.
“The great similarity of Haitian cholera with Nepalese cholera is based upon the highest resolution DNA methods available, and point to a probable source of this devastating disease outbreak,” said Paul Keim, a biology professor at Northern Arizona University and the senior molecular biologist for the study.
Researchers examined the DNA of twenty-four cholera samples from different areas of Nepal against ten samples from Haiti. All twenty-four Nepalese samples matched, and according to the report, some “were almost identical.”
The study was made possible thanks to techniques pioneered during the anthrax letter investigations following the 9/11 attacks, explained Keim, who also assisted in the FBI’s hunt for the source of the anthrax letters.
Lance Price, the co-author of the new study, said the research into the source of Haitian cholera could help prevent such outbreaks in the future.
“This effort validates the power of advanced molecular tools in investigating outbreaks of this nature,” Price said. “The goal now should be finding ways to prevent such outbreaks, perhaps through screening prior to deployment. This study is not about placing blame, it’s about preventing such disasters in the future.”
