Researchers identify cholera hotspots in Uganda to guide control programs

Twenty-two districts in Uganda were recently identified by researchers as cholera “hotspots” that should be targeted by cholera control programs in the country and elsewhere in sub-Saharan Africa.

Researchers from the Johns Hopkins School of Public Health identified the areas as high-risk based on their close proximity to international lakes and rivers and above-average annual rainfall totals. Cholera epidemics have occurred on a regular basis in Uganda since the early 1970s.

“The findings of our study could be used as a guide to strengthen the cholera control program in Uganda,” the researchers stated. “Since a majority of the hotspot districts are near the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) or Kenya border, it suggests that close collaboration with these countries would be an effective strategy for controlling cholera in that part of the world.”

Mohammad Ali of the Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health and other researchers used data collected by Uganda’s Ministry of Health from 2011-2016. The group also used data on population sizes, rainfall totals, water, sanitation, and hygiene. The data helped them identify 22 hotspots, 13 on the border of DRC and nine on the border of Kenya.

The risk for cholera outbreaks in the areas was found to be anywhere from two to 22 times greater in those districts than elsewhere in the country. Overall, cholera infects 4 million people worldwide each year and contributes to tens of thousands of deaths.