Fall 2004 |
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Former Director of the National Science Foundation
Dr. Rita Colwell Shares Her Science of Cholera With Esri Users |
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Colwell took the conference audience on a voyage to Bangladesh as she described her work over the past 25 years to find solutions to the continuing cholera outbreaks that have plagued the people who live there. Hundreds of people are hospitalized every day in local hospitals because of the life threatening disease. She began by mentioning Dr. John Snow, a London physician; in 1854, he mapped the location of people infected with cholera to reveal a correlation between specific water pumps and incidents of the disease. In a similar manner as Snow, Colwell used spatial analysis and the language of geography to understand cholera. By examining the relationships between weather, sea temperature, the population of copepods (shrimp-like microscopic organisms in which cholera bacteria naturally occur), and how people in Bangladesh live and interact with their environment, Colwell was able to consider multiple factors. Despite the relevance of her find, Colwell still faced several obstacles. Bringing together people from diverse backgrounds and specialties, as well as being faced with resistance to her ideas and theories, Colwell continued her work of merging health and geography to create a new form of epidemiology that combines computer modeling, data sharing, and GIS. Colwell used her experience of overcoming obstacles to urge the audience, "Never, never give up. You must persevere." Currently, Colwell is developing an international network to address emerging infectious diseases and water issues, including safe drinking water for both the developed and developing world. For more information, contact John Calkins, Esri-Denver (e-mail: jcalkins@esri.com, tel.: 303-449-7779, ext. 8234). |