HR: 1340h
AN: H33F-1703    [Abstracts]
TI: Understanding the Hydrology of Cholera in South Asia
AU: * Akanda, A S
EM: ali.akanda@tufts.edu
AF: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, 200 College Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, United States
AU: Jutla, A S
EM: antarpreet.jutla@tufts.edu
AF: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, 200 College Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, United States
AU: Islam, S
EM: shafiqul.islam@tufts.edu
AF: Civil and Environmental Engineering, Tufts University, 200 College Avenue, Medford, MA 02155, United States
AB: Cholera is an acute waterborne illness caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The disease remains a major public health issue in several regions of the developing world, mainly in coastal areas around the tropics. Cholera incidences have been historically linked to climate variables and more recently with El Nino-Southern Oscillation. The occurrence of cholera shows bi-annual seasonal peaks and strong inter-annual variability in the Ganges basin region of South Asia. However, the role of hydrologic variables in the seasonal patterns of cholera epidemics is less understood. Preliminary results suggest that a unique combination of increasing water temperature and higher salinity in the coastal zone during the low flow season provide the situation amenable to the first outbreak of cholera in the spring season. Other major factors contributing to the subsequent spread of the disease are sea surface height, monsoon precipitation, and coastal phytoplankton concentration. We will further examine the lag periods between the dominant environmental variables and cholera incidences to understand the seasonal dynamics of cholera in South Asia.
DE: 1800 HYDROLOGY
DE: 1833 Hydroclimatology
SC: Hydrology [H]
MN: 2007 Fall Meeting