Epidemiologist, Kenya Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program (K-FELTP) | Ministry of Health Kenya
Waqo Boru at Johns Hopkins University
Mr. Waqo Boru, BSc, MSc is an Epidemiologist with the Field Epidemiology and Laboratory Training Program at the Ministry of Health in Kenya. When asked what piqued his interest in cholera, Waqo rattles off a list of questions he hoped his research would be able to answer: “Why is this outbreak (that began in 2014) different from others? Where is cholera coming from, and what makes it unique? Are there environmental factors that contribute to its transmission? Is there a genetic mutation, or several, contributing to the current outbreak?”
Senior Laboratory Technologist/Microbiologist, Head of Molecular Microbiology Laboratory at the National Health Laboratory and Diagnostic Services | Ministry of Health Uganda
Francis Ongole at Johns Hopkins University
Francis Ongole describes himself as the type of person who wants to learn everything. This desire for knowledge led him first to the field of microbiology and public health then to the field of cholera, where he has been working for the last four years in Uganda to understand cholera epidemiology, outbreaks investigation and laboratory confirmation using both rapid diagnostic tests (RDTs) and the gold standard of culture and sensitivity.
Research Fellow | Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ)
John Mwaba in the Johns Hopkins University Lab.
This is the question that prompted John Mwaba, a Research Fellow at the Centre for Infectious Disease Research in Zambia (CIDRZ), to enter into the field of medical microbiology, and ultimately led him to the field of cholera.
Each year, around 2.8 million people suffer from cholera and about 91,000 die from this preventable disease.1
Cholera is “one of the biggest challenges the world is facing,” John noted in a recent interview, and an estimated 1.3 billion people are at risk. According to John, if we do nothing, the number might double in the next five to 10 years.
MD, MPH, Team Lead, Infectious Hazard Management (IHM) Unit | WHO Health Emergencies Department (WHE), World Health Organization, Regional Office for Eastern Mediterranean
I am happy to inform you that most of the StopCholera Toolkit documents are now available in Arabic.
The StopCholera Toolkit is a one-stop shop for cholera and oral cholera vaccine information. The Toolkit contains valuable information for cholera focal points and immunization program managers, Ministries of Health and health care workers who respond to cholera and/or administer the vaccine. The aim of the toolkit is to help decide if, when, where, and how to use oral cholera vaccine to reduce cholera mortality, prevent cases, and halt outbreaks.