Haitian Cholera Source Confirmed

Researchers pinpoint Nepalese soldiers as the source of last year’s deadly cholera outbreak in Haiti.

Written byJef Akst

| 2 min read

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WIKIMEDIA COMMONS, CLAWED

As suspected, Nepalese soldiers traveling to Haiti to aide in the recovery efforts after the January 2010 earthquake are the source of the deadly cholera outbreak that killed more than 6,000 people and left some 300,000 seriously ill, according to a study published today (August 23) in mBio.

Paul Keim, a biology professor at Northern Arizona University and director of the Pathogen Genomics Division of the non-profit Translational Genomics Research Institute (TGen), and his colleagues used whole genome sequencing to compare 24 Nepalese samples of Vibrio cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, with 10 samples of the bacteria from Haiti. All the samples showed high sequence similarity, with some that “were almost identical,” the researchers report. The results confirm earlier suspicions that peacekeepers from Nepal ...

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Meet the Author

Jef Akst
Jef (an unusual nickname for Jennifer) got her master’s degree from Indiana University in April 2009 studying the mating behavior of seahorses. After four years of diving off the Gulf Coast of Tampa and performing behavioral experiments at the Tennessee Aquarium in Chattanooga, she left research to pursue a career in science writing. As The Scientist's managing editor, Jef edited features and oversaw the production of the TS Digest and quarterly print magazine. In 2022, her feature on uterus transplantation earned first place in the trade category of the Awards for Excellence in Health Care Journalism. She is a member of the National Association of Science Writers.
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