Research Description
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection that is caused by ingestion of Vibrio cholerae bacteria, via contaminated food or water. Regions with inadequate water and sanitation services, and other conditions that predispose to weakened health (e.g., food insecurity), are at risk for cholera outbreaks. Cholera is frequently a concern in settings of humanitarian emergencies. In Haiti, the first case of cholera was reported ten months after the devastating 2010 earthquake, which left swaths of the public sector in ruins. As our colleagues at Partners In Health aimed to provide emergency treatment and prevention to the people of central Haiti, we sought to document the impact of these measures, including deployment of the oral cholera vaccine. While oral cholera vaccines were already known to be efficacious, they had never been used in response to an active outbreak in a setting where cholera was not already endemic. Our research work intentionally debunked common misconceptions related to vaccine feasibility and effectiveness that had been previously used to argue against widespread use of the effective vaccine as part of a comprehensive response to cholera in rural Haiti. Recent work has sought to better understand the interplay between food insecurity and cholera.
Research Projects
Assessing measures to control and eliminate cholera in Haiti
Description: The goals of this five-year project are to identify microbiologic and environmental risk factors for clinical cholera, identify risk factors for subclinical V. cholerae infection, and evaluate the impact of an integrated cholera elimination program on pediatric health outcomes.
Core Member(s): Molly Franke (PIs: Ivers, L. & Harris, J.)
Funder: NIH/NIAID
Funding Number: R01 AI099243
Immune responses and susceptibility to vibrio cholerae infection in Haiti
Description: The goal of this project was to measure the magnitude and duration of adaptive immune response to the oral cholera vaccine in a Haitian population and characterize other epidemiologic aspects of Vibrio cholera infection in Haiti, including the influence of HIV infection and within household attack rates.
Core Member(s): Molly Franke (PIs: Ivers, L. & Harris, J.)
Funder: NIH/NIAID
Funding Number: R01 AI099243
Aba Kolera / Stop Cholera: target elimination of cholera transmission in rural Haiti
Description: This was a planning grant to prepare for the implementation of a large-scale project which employed oral cholera vaccination and water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to eliminate new cases of cholera in one rural area of Haiti.
Core Member(s): Molly Franke (PI: Ivers, L.)
Funder: Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Funding Number: N/A