Fighting cholera by predicting how its spreads

In October, EPFL and Médecins Sans Frontières joined forces in an unprecedented effort to predict how the cholera epidemic in Haiti will spread. Their projections are now used by organizations battling the epidemic on the ground. On 4 October 2016, Hurricane Matthew wrought havoc in southwestern Haiti. The cholera outbreak that it triggered, coming in the middle of the rainy season, simply added to the prevailing chaos in that country. Researchers at EPFL were soon contacted by Médecins Sans Frontières (MSF) and asked for their help in predicting the number of new cases of cholera in real time. What for? To provide organizations battling the epidemic on the ground with the information they need to make the right decisions at the right time. This is the first time that EPFL and MSF have teamed up to fight an epidemic.