By Lucy Chubb Sea surface temperatures recorded by satellites help scientists study water-borne diseases. This satellite image shows the Bay of Bengal as it warms up in spring, Satellites that are helping scientists explore potential links between climate and cholera may hold the key to predicting outbreaks of the deadly, water-borne disease. Using satellite information on ocean temperature and sea height, scientists from NASA's Ames Research Center and the University of Maryland Biotechnology Institute may have figured out how to track blooms of plankton associated with outbreaks of cholera.
Cholera is a bacterial infection of the intestine.
In acute cases, it causes severe diarrhea and eventual death. Previous studies have shown that the bacterium attaches itself to plankton in water, which is how the disease is spread. This chart traces the path of cholera, noting how it survives in the environment and is transmitted, often in epidemic proportions. In their study , the researchers focused on Bangladesh and the nearby Bay of Bengal. They compared hospital cholera records for the years 1992 through 1995 with data on sea temperature and ocean levels collected by satellite and other means in the Bay of Bengal during the same period of time.