TRACKING TB WITH
CELL PHONE DATA
Photo by Ssebagala Golooba, 2019.
CELLPHONES MAKE A LOT OF THINGS EASIER. Keeping in touch with family, finding directions to the closest gas station, taking photos of everyday life. But for the University of Georgia’s Christopher Whalen, cellphones may also hold the key to tracking how tuberculosis spreads through communities in Africa. Tuberculosis is the ninth leading cause of death worldwide and the No. 1 deadliest infectious disease on the planet. Despite the arrival of a vaccine in 1921, effective treatment options since 1952, and numerous disease prevention campaigns, tuberculosis remains uncontrolled in many parts of the world, especially in low- and middle-income countries. Disease burden is a measurement that tries to quantify the impact of a health problem (cost, mortality, etc.). In sub-Saharan Africa, the burden of tuberculosis, or TB, is high and made worse because of the HIV epidemic. New cases of TB number in the millions each year throughout the African continent. As a physician and an epidemiologist, Whalen has dedicated his career to preventing the spread of TB.
Photo by Andrew Davis Tucker, 2011.
18
PUBLIC HEALTH 2019 MAGAZINE
“To make progress in curbing the epidemic of tuberculosis, new cases must be prevented,” said Whalen, the Holbrook Distinguished Professor in Global Health and director of the Global Health Institute at UGA’s College of Public Health.
