Measles kills thousands of people in Africa each year. It is commonly spread during the dry season when workers migrate to large cities in search of work. A lot of the time there is no electricity so any fluctuation in the amount of light coming from a certain area is clearly noticeable. Assuming that someone in the population of workers has measles means that the whole group could get it because the workers are living in densely populated areas.
By tracking the light given off by the worker's camp's and villages they can track their movement across the continent. Since measles seems to follow the group, they can also track the disease and predict where it will appear next. If doctors know where the disease will be heading next, they can get there before it and administer vaccination to prevent the disease from spreading. This method can be adapted for use with many other types of illness and disease
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This article seems very interesting! I wonder if the predictions made of where measles will appear next will be as accurate as some may hope! Tracking measles in groups is definitely a different way to try and prevent the disease from further spreading.
ReplyDeleteThis method of disease prevention reminds me of the system of ring vaccination that we saw in that video in class. By locating the areas that most likely have been hit by measles and vaccinating the people there, they are preventing the disease from spreading to other places. It is also a more practical tactic because it saves vaccinations from going to waste in places that they aren't needed.
ReplyDeleteI agree with Lexie that predicting where a disease will arise in order to prevent it seems similar to the ring vaccination technique. Although it only vaccinates where its needed, it is risky if they do miss someone. Although it costs a lot more and would be a lot more worked, I believe a greater amount of the population should be vaccinated.
ReplyDeleteThat's pretty incredible. I love obscure things like this. I find it especially amazing when technology we've had is utilized in a way that we didn't think it could be. And usually it's much simpler or beneficial than it's original intended use. The fact that they're using lights seems like such an "oh duh" action, but it has never occurred to me to be used to track , much less for diease.
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