Matthew Cummings, Siena College
“Communicable Disease Surveillance and Response in Uganda: Community-Based Disease Surveillance and Response as an Essential Tool for Improving Health in the Developing World”
Bio: Matthew Cummings is a senior at Siena College where he is studying biology and history. He spent the fall of 2007 at Makerere University in Uganda and worked with the Epidemiology and Surveillance Division at the Uganda Ministry of Health throughout the summer of 2008. During this time he participated in field investigations and control activities related to outbreaks of cholera, hepatitis E, typhoid, and Marburg hemorrhagic fever.
Abstract: While outbreaks of communicable diseases have presented an ongoing challenge in the developing world for time immemorial, within recent years the frequency of such outbreaks has risen sharply. Accordingly, it is clear that strong epidemiological surveillance is an integral tool for improving the health of those living in developing nations as they face the greatest threat from communicable diseases and are also more likely to fall victim to such illnesses due to their destitution. Establishing community-based surveillance programs can provide early notification of outbreaks and prevent the unnecessary suffering and burdens that accompany silent epidemics. Such systems can also help to identify opportunities for the implementation of sustainable preventive measures and health education activities that will be able to improve the overall welfare of those living in settings of poverty.
