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Keeping close watch on cholera

June 20, 2023
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Two scientists in a laboratory: a woman in blue scrubs with gloves and hairnet holds test tubes, while a man in a white lab coat points at them. Laboratory equipment and papers are visible in the background.

Emergency situations intensify the risk of severe diarrhea. Waterborne diseases like cholera spark
epidemics amid conflict, flooding, drought, or even displacement from volcanic eruption. Vaccines and education can save lives. 

Dr. Raphaël Senga is a regional laboratory director. Explore his story below, and learn more from the others we interviewed for this series:

– Joseph Muhisi, nurse supervisor

– Espérance Leonard, mother of nine

– Augustin Mikizi, community liaison officer

Photos: PATH/Ley Uwera.

A storage room with metal shelves stocked with boxes of medical supplies. Two handwritten signs on the shelves indicate items labeled "VCO" and "Berber" with quantities and weights. The floor has various scattered items, including ice packs and foam padding.
A healthcare worker in a white coat and headscarf shows a brochure to a woman holding a baby. The baby is wearing a pink headband with a stuffed animal on it. They are seated in a room with a blackboard and window in the background.
Two scientists in a laboratory: a woman wearing blue scrubs, gloves, and a hairnet holds a test tube while a man in a white lab coat and gloves adds a substance to it with a dropper. They are standing in front of lab equipment and charts on the wall.
A group of six healthcare professionals, five wearing white lab coats and one wearing blue scrubs, stand in front of a beige building with a stone foundation. They face the camera directly, posing in a line. The wall behind them features written text.
A storage room with metal shelves stocked with boxes of medical supplies. Two handwritten signs on the shelves indicate items labeled "VCO" and "Berber" with quantities and weights. The floor has various scattered items, including ice packs and foam padding.

North Kivu is cholera-endemic, and Kabangwa Senga Raphael’s team is tracking a dangerous strain ravaging local camps for internally displaced people.

A healthcare worker in a white coat and headscarf shows a brochure to a woman holding a baby. The baby is wearing a pink headband with a stuffed animal on it. They are seated in a room with a blackboard and window in the background.

“A crowded environment where there is no water, or toilets, plus a high concentration of people, creates unsanitary conditions,” Raphael explained. These factors create the conditions for cholera to spread quickly.

Two scientists in a laboratory: a woman wearing blue scrubs, gloves, and a hairnet holds a test tube while a man in a white lab coat and gloves adds a substance to it with a dropper. They are standing in front of lab equipment and charts on the wall.

“Our teams are dispatched to the IDP camps to take in-depth samples,” added Raphael, who directs the regional healthcare laboratory.

A group of six healthcare professionals, five wearing white lab coats and one wearing blue scrubs, stand in front of a beige building with a stone foundation. They face the camera directly, posing in a line. The wall behind them features written text.

These disease detectives monitor the spread of cholera in real-time, so that health workers can target solutions where they are needed most. Cholera vaccine campaigns and community education offer the best chance at protection from this resilient risk.

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