Scientists discover likely source of Yemen cholera epidemic

Scientists from the Wellcome Sanger Institute and Institut Pasteu have potentially found the most likely source of Yemen’s worst cholera epidemic in recorded history.

The disease, which has stricken more than 1 million people and killed nearly 2,500 people since it first appeared in the country in April 2017, came from Eastern Africa and likely entered the region due to the migration of people. The scientists concluded this through genomic sequencing data, which they say will also allow them to estimate the risk of future cholera outbreaks. Their results were published in the journal Nature.

“Genomics enabled us to discover that the strain of cholera behind the devastating and ongoing epidemic in Yemen is likely linked to the migration of people from Eastern Africa into Yemen,” Professor Nick Thomson, of the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said. “Knowing how cholera moves globally gives us the opportunity to better prepare for future outbreaks. This information can help inform strategies for more targeted interventions with the ultimate aim of reducing the impact of future epidemics.”

While some had theorized the two outbreaks of cholera that struck the region between 2016 and 2017 were of different strains, this study also confirmed that they were of the same Vibrio cholerae bacterium. They also discovered that this current strain is susceptible to many antibiotics — an unusual case for cholera.

“The strain causing the Yemeni cholera epidemic has deleted four genes responsible for resistance to clinically relevant antibiotics, making itself more vulnerable to treatment,” Dr. Daryl Domman, a visiting scientist at the Wellcome Sanger Institute, said.

The study compared genomic sequences to a collection of more than 1000 cholera samples from the current epidemic.