Keywords
Spread; Cholera Epidemic; Driving Factors; El Niño; Armed Conflicts; IDPs
Abstract
The El Niño’s impact on the incidence and endemicity of cholera is highlighted in coastal regions of SouthEastern Asia and inland regions of sub-Saharan Africa, namely in the eastern Democratic Republic of the Congo. This region is also a site of recurrent armed conflicts with subsequent internally displaced persons. However, the western DRC is sporadically affected consecutively to cholera spreading from the eastern endemic foci. We hypothesized that El Niño and both eastern armed conflicts and IDPs may play a central role in the spread of cholera epidemics in the DRC. Using Binomial Regression Models, our study showed that El Niño events were the main predictors of cholera epidemics spreading out of eastern endemic provinces. It implies that we may be able to provide an epidemiological tool to forecast the risk of cholera in the DRC.
Citation
Kayembe Ntumba HC, Batumbo D, Kayembe Ntumba JM, Ntaongo J, Bisimwa L, Vita TP, et al. East-Western Dynamic and Driving Factors of Cholera Epidemics in the Democratic Republic of the Congo. SM Journal of Infect Dis. 2018; 3(1): 1007.