Mary Wilson
Well-known member
June 30, 2023, 1:37pm
Partners and collaborators
Mpanga Kasonde (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Joseph Mutale (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Nchimunya Siabenzu (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia),
Otridah Kapona (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Dr. Kunda Musonda (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Prof. Roma Chilengi (ZNPHI, Zambia), Mwansa (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Peter Mwansa (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Frazer Mtine (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Stephen Kanyerezi (NHLDS/CPHL/UNHLS, Uganda), Ivan Sserwadda (NHLDS/CPHL/UNHLS, Uganda), Sofonias Tessema (Africa CDC, Ethiopia), Gerald Mboowa (Africa CDC, Ethiopia)
Background
Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for causing the infectious disease cholera. It is estimated that V. cholerae causes millions of cases of cholera each year, resulting in thousands of deaths globally. To combat this disease, the isolation and serotyping of V. cholerae are crucial for understanding the epidemiology and transmission of cholera outbreaks. A Global Roadmap to 2030 operationalizes the new global strategy for cholera control at the country level and provides a concrete path toward a world in which cholera is no longer a threat to public health. By implementing the strategy between now and 2030, the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) partners are supporting countries to reduce cholera deaths by at least 90 percent. In 2021, GTFCC reported twenty-one countries with cholera outbreaks globally. The roadmap focuses on controlling the disease at the country level, but a critical element for outbreak prevention is establishing an efficient mechanism that ensures routine monitoring and identifying sources of V. cholerae.
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has been a critical tool for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigations during the COVID-19 pandemic. When combined with epidemiological and environmental investigations, WGS provides the ultimate resolution for detecting and analyzing transmission routes, tracing outbreak sources, and assessing pathogen immune escape properties, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance determinants. WGS of V. cholerae is now providing unprecedented insights into where cholera strains emerge and then spread to other areas. It is time to integrate these developments into routine public-health measures, especially in outbreak-prone areas of Africa; however, cholera genomic surveillance remains largely underutilized.
The first case of the 2023 cholera outbreak was recorded on January 21, 2023, in Vubwi District, Eastern Province. Eastern Provinces shares a long border with Malawi, which has been experiencing cholera outbreaks since June 2022. A further 3 districts in Eastern Province have so far recorded cases. In Luapula province’s Mwansabombwe and Nchelenge districts, an additional, unrelated outbreak without any epi link to the Eastern Province outbreak was confirmed on January 26 and February 9, 2023, respectively. The two affected districts in the province of Luapula border the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where reports indicate a potential ongoing cholera outbreak, particularly in fishing camps. Nsama district in Northern Province, one of the 20 cholera hotspots in Zambia, confirmed a cholera outbreak on March 12, 2023. As of March 23, 2023, a total of 276 cases, including 7 mortalities, had been recorded in the 7 districts affected by the cholera outbreak. Three (03) of the seven (07) districts affected by the current cholera outbreak received preemptive oral cholera vaccination in 2021 as part of the cholera elimination effort.
In the case of the 2023 Cholera outbreak in Zambia, we will present a use-case for integrating WGS in cholera outbreak response with the following objectives; ...
https://virological.org/t/vibrio-cholerae-genomics/939
Partners and collaborators
Mpanga Kasonde (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Joseph Mutale (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Nchimunya Siabenzu (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia),
Otridah Kapona (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Dr. Kunda Musonda (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Prof. Roma Chilengi (ZNPHI, Zambia), Mwansa (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Peter Mwansa (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Frazer Mtine (ZNPHRL/ZNPHI, Zambia), Stephen Kanyerezi (NHLDS/CPHL/UNHLS, Uganda), Ivan Sserwadda (NHLDS/CPHL/UNHLS, Uganda), Sofonias Tessema (Africa CDC, Ethiopia), Gerald Mboowa (Africa CDC, Ethiopia)
Background
Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium responsible for causing the infectious disease cholera. It is estimated that V. cholerae causes millions of cases of cholera each year, resulting in thousands of deaths globally. To combat this disease, the isolation and serotyping of V. cholerae are crucial for understanding the epidemiology and transmission of cholera outbreaks. A Global Roadmap to 2030 operationalizes the new global strategy for cholera control at the country level and provides a concrete path toward a world in which cholera is no longer a threat to public health. By implementing the strategy between now and 2030, the Global Task Force on Cholera Control (GTFCC) partners are supporting countries to reduce cholera deaths by at least 90 percent. In 2021, GTFCC reported twenty-one countries with cholera outbreaks globally. The roadmap focuses on controlling the disease at the country level, but a critical element for outbreak prevention is establishing an efficient mechanism that ensures routine monitoring and identifying sources of V. cholerae.
Whole-genome sequencing (WGS) has been a critical tool for infectious disease surveillance and outbreak investigations during the COVID-19 pandemic. When combined with epidemiological and environmental investigations, WGS provides the ultimate resolution for detecting and analyzing transmission routes, tracing outbreak sources, and assessing pathogen immune escape properties, virulence, and antimicrobial resistance determinants. WGS of V. cholerae is now providing unprecedented insights into where cholera strains emerge and then spread to other areas. It is time to integrate these developments into routine public-health measures, especially in outbreak-prone areas of Africa; however, cholera genomic surveillance remains largely underutilized.
The first case of the 2023 cholera outbreak was recorded on January 21, 2023, in Vubwi District, Eastern Province. Eastern Provinces shares a long border with Malawi, which has been experiencing cholera outbreaks since June 2022. A further 3 districts in Eastern Province have so far recorded cases. In Luapula province’s Mwansabombwe and Nchelenge districts, an additional, unrelated outbreak without any epi link to the Eastern Province outbreak was confirmed on January 26 and February 9, 2023, respectively. The two affected districts in the province of Luapula border the Democratic Republic of the Congo, where reports indicate a potential ongoing cholera outbreak, particularly in fishing camps. Nsama district in Northern Province, one of the 20 cholera hotspots in Zambia, confirmed a cholera outbreak on March 12, 2023. As of March 23, 2023, a total of 276 cases, including 7 mortalities, had been recorded in the 7 districts affected by the cholera outbreak. Three (03) of the seven (07) districts affected by the current cholera outbreak received preemptive oral cholera vaccination in 2021 as part of the cholera elimination effort.
In the case of the 2023 Cholera outbreak in Zambia, we will present a use-case for integrating WGS in cholera outbreak response with the following objectives; ...
https://virological.org/t/vibrio-cholerae-genomics/939