\u201cGrowing up on the Indian subcontinent made me acutely aware of the suffering caused by Cholera.\u201d says Ali Akanda. \u201cAlong with my colleague Professor Jutla, I\u2019m hoping we take make a real difference in reducing Cholera in my home country and worldwide.\u201d<\/p>\n
Cholera<\/a> is an acute bacterial infection of intestine that happens when a person eats food or water contaminated with cholera bacteria. People with severe cholera can develop acute dehydration, which can lead to shock, coma, or even death within hours.<\/p>\n According to the World Health Organization (WHO)<\/a>, roughly 1.3 to 4 million cases of Cholera occur worldwide every year, with a resulting 21,000 to 143,000 deaths. But the WHO also warns that the actual number of cases is probably much, much higher, as many cases are never reported to formal health care organizations.<\/p>\n While Cholera is closely linked to inadequate access to clean water and sanitation facilities that have long existed in less-developed areas of our planet, increasingly, research is showing a new cause of infection. New cases because of political and social unrest and population displacement because of war or natural events are becoming more and more common.<\/p>\n NASA\u2019s Earth Data Systems (ESDS) Program<\/a> is a massive dataset of current and historical worldwide environmental variables such as water temperature, land surface temperature, water levels in lakes and streams, vegetation, elevation of snow caps, rainfall, and more. The information is gathered from a fleet public and private satellites.<\/p>\n Akanda and Jutla\u2019s big idea is that these data can be used to track and predict how Cholera affects certain regions. \u201cWe see these markers\u2026things that change in the environment before and after outbreaks.\u201d says Akanda. \u201cWe hypothesize that we can use these data and develop an algorithm that will provide an \u2018early warning\u2019 for individuals, governments, and non-governmental organizations to take steps to avoid an epidemic.\u201d<\/p>\n \u201cWe would like to take these data and calculate risk of Cholera in real-time for locations across the globe.\u201d Says Akanda. \u201cOften regions don\u2019t know there is going to be a Cholera endemic until it hits.\u201c<\/p>\n Along with the physical data from the ESDS data, Akanda is also using data marking socio-political situations in his calculations. \u201cWhat is interesting is that we are finding that migration, war, famine, political uprisings can be additional triggers for outbreaks.\u201d says Akanda. For example, Akanda\u2019s research will be looking at areas of Eastern Africa and Yemen, where war and civil strife have been prevalent.<\/p>\n Aside from knowing when a risk of Cholera is present, there must be the ability to get this information out. \u201cWe know that even in poorer regions of the globe most either have smart phones or are at least near someone who does.\u201d says Akanda. \u201cWe are developing an application that people can download to be notified of increased risk of Cholera.\u201d The app<\/a> is installed on the phone, and allows the user, whether in the rural countryside or in the city, to “see” Cholera risks around them. “We’re trying to realize a system that will provide an early-warning for people in rural and poorer areas, where local health authorities may or may not know of the risk.” says Akanda.<\/p>\n The app was developed in collaboration with Sonia Aziz<\/a>, associate professor of economics at Moravian University, Emily Pakhtigaian<\/a>, assistant professor of public policy at Pennsylvania State University, and Kevin Boyle<\/a>, a professor of agricultural and applied economics at Virginia Tech University.<\/p>\n Along with the smart phone application, Akanda and Jutla are also taking an inventory of governmental and non-governmental organizations such as ministries of health, news organizations, non-governmental organizations such as The Red Cross, The World Health Organization, and 50 other international agencies. “We’re building a web portal where these organizations can get real-time Cholera risks in different regions. “The idea is that these organizations can use their contacts, staff, and communications methods to reach everyone.” says Akanda.<\/p>\n What is clear in talking to Akanda that he is on a mission. Akanda says passionately that what has frustrated him is that Cholera is a preventable disease. “It doesn’t have to be this way.” he says. “As engineers we are charged with taking the basic sciences and providing solutions for humankind. We hope we will do just that.” \u201cCholera takes its toll on the poor and on the vulnerable. What drives us in our research is that we truly believe we are fighting the horrors of Cholera. That’s what drives us.\u201d<\/p>\nHarnessing Big Data to Predict Cholera Outbreaks<\/h2>\n
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Getting the Word Out With a Phone App and Web Portal<\/h2>\n
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A Passion for Good<\/h2>\n
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