Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor?
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by Vibrio cholerae and occurs as widespread epidemics in Africa. In 2005, there were 31,719 cholera cases, with 458 deaths in the Republic of Senegal. We retrospectively investigated the climate origin of the devastating floods in mid-August 2005, in the...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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Public Library of Science (PLoS)
2012-01-01
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| Series: | PLoS ONE |
| Online Access: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22952995/?tool=EBI |
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| author | Guillaume Constantin de Magny Wassila Thiaw Vadlamani Kumar Noël M Manga Bernard M Diop Lamine Gueye Mamina Kamara Benjamin Roche Raghu Murtugudde Rita R Colwell |
| author_facet | Guillaume Constantin de Magny Wassila Thiaw Vadlamani Kumar Noël M Manga Bernard M Diop Lamine Gueye Mamina Kamara Benjamin Roche Raghu Murtugudde Rita R Colwell |
| author_sort | Guillaume Constantin de Magny |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by Vibrio cholerae and occurs as widespread epidemics in Africa. In 2005, there were 31,719 cholera cases, with 458 deaths in the Republic of Senegal. We retrospectively investigated the climate origin of the devastating floods in mid-August 2005, in the Dakar Region of Senegal and the subsequent outbreak of cholera along with the pattern of cholera outbreaks in three other regions of that country. We compared rainfall patterns between 2002 and 2005 and the relationship between the sea surface temperature (SST) gradient in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and precipitation over Senegal for 2005. Results showed a specific pattern of rainfall throughout the Dakar region during August, 2005, and the associated rainfall anomaly coincided with an exacerbation of the cholera epidemic. Comparison of rainfall and epidemiological patterns revealed that the temporal dynamics of precipitation, which was abrupt and heavy, was presumably the determining factor. Analysis of the SST gradient showed that the Atlantic Ocean SST variability in 2005 differed from that of 2002 to 2004, a result of a prominent Atlantic meridional mode. The influence of this intense precipitation on cholera transmission over a densely populated and crowded region was detectable for both Dakar and Thiès, Senegal. Thus, high resolution rainfall forecasts at subseasonal time scales should provide a way forward for an early warning system in Africa for cholera and, thereby, trigger epidemic preparedness. Clearly, attention must be paid to both natural and human induced environmental factors to devise appropriate action to prevent cholera and other waterborne disease epidemics in the region. |
| first_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:06:15Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-aa666282da164fda8134212db9857b8d |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 1932-6203 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-12-14T09:06:15Z |
| publishDate | 2012-01-01 |
| publisher | Public Library of Science (PLoS) |
| record_format | Article |
| series | PLoS ONE |
| spelling | doaj.art-aa666282da164fda8134212db9857b8d2022-12-21T23:08:42ZengPublic Library of Science (PLoS)PLoS ONE1932-62032012-01-0178e4457710.1371/journal.pone.0044577Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor?Guillaume Constantin de MagnyWassila ThiawVadlamani KumarNoël M MangaBernard M DiopLamine GueyeMamina KamaraBenjamin RocheRaghu MurtuguddeRita R ColwellCholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by Vibrio cholerae and occurs as widespread epidemics in Africa. In 2005, there were 31,719 cholera cases, with 458 deaths in the Republic of Senegal. We retrospectively investigated the climate origin of the devastating floods in mid-August 2005, in the Dakar Region of Senegal and the subsequent outbreak of cholera along with the pattern of cholera outbreaks in three other regions of that country. We compared rainfall patterns between 2002 and 2005 and the relationship between the sea surface temperature (SST) gradient in the tropical Atlantic Ocean and precipitation over Senegal for 2005. Results showed a specific pattern of rainfall throughout the Dakar region during August, 2005, and the associated rainfall anomaly coincided with an exacerbation of the cholera epidemic. Comparison of rainfall and epidemiological patterns revealed that the temporal dynamics of precipitation, which was abrupt and heavy, was presumably the determining factor. Analysis of the SST gradient showed that the Atlantic Ocean SST variability in 2005 differed from that of 2002 to 2004, a result of a prominent Atlantic meridional mode. The influence of this intense precipitation on cholera transmission over a densely populated and crowded region was detectable for both Dakar and Thiès, Senegal. Thus, high resolution rainfall forecasts at subseasonal time scales should provide a way forward for an early warning system in Africa for cholera and, thereby, trigger epidemic preparedness. Clearly, attention must be paid to both natural and human induced environmental factors to devise appropriate action to prevent cholera and other waterborne disease epidemics in the region.https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22952995/?tool=EBI |
| spellingShingle | Guillaume Constantin de Magny Wassila Thiaw Vadlamani Kumar Noël M Manga Bernard M Diop Lamine Gueye Mamina Kamara Benjamin Roche Raghu Murtugudde Rita R Colwell Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor? PLoS ONE |
| title | Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor? |
| title_full | Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor? |
| title_fullStr | Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor? |
| title_full_unstemmed | Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor? |
| title_short | Cholera outbreak in Senegal in 2005: was climate a factor? |
| title_sort | cholera outbreak in senegal in 2005 was climate a factor |
| url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/pmid/22952995/?tool=EBI |
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