One of the fastest ways to prevent the spread of deadly diseases like Ebola is to catalog instances on a map. This enables emergency planners to monitor the scope of an outbreak and allocate resources to prevent loss of life. Maps also help community members and aid workers locate clean water, medical facilities, latrines, burial sites, and safe travel routes. Being able to share this information quickly between agencies is vital to coordinating an effective response to an outbreak, and apps with mobile medical forms that share data in real time or near-real time can be an invaluable tool. The engineers at Fulcrum have created apps for tracking Ebola and cholera in response to the current outbreaks in several African countries.
Both are available for use at no cost with Fulcrum Community.
Ebola in the Democratic Republic of Congo
On August 1, 2018, the Democratic Republic of Congo declared a new Ebola outbreak. The virus has killed nearly 100 people in North Kivu province. The Red Cross reports that about 50 more have been infected.
Ebola is a hemorrhagic fever that is spread via direct contact with the bodily fluids of an infected person or a body of someone who has died from it. Symptoms can appear anywhere from 2 to 21 days after exposure.
Ebola kills about half of those who contract it, depending on available resources for treatment. The disease is more deadly in poorer countries like the DRC than in Europe or the United States.
The world has seen more than 30 Ebola outbreaks, including nine in the DRC. The current outbreak emerged just weeks after the last one ended.
Making matters worse, the current outbreak lies near a dangerous conflict zone, which is hampering aid efforts.
“It’s a complex operation because of the insecurity in the region, because of the difficult access, and also because of the behavior of the population in affected areas,” said Dr. Fatoumata Nafo-Traore. “It really has reduced our access in communities because we can’t go everywhere.”
Cholera outbreaks in Zimbabwe and Nigeria
Meanwhile, outbreaks of Cholera have killed dozens — and infected thousands — of people in Nigeria and Zimbabwe.
Cholera is a disease caused by a bacterial infection of the intestine. 10-20% of infected people develop acute diarrhea and vomiting, leading to severe dehydration, shock, and even death.
The disease spreads through contaminated food or water from an infected person’s feces or through direct contact with contaminated hands. Symptoms typically appear within 2-3 days.
Because the incubation period is so short, Cholera cases can rise quickly. The first 24 hours of the disease are the most dangerous, with deadly dehydration possible in just 12 hours. A rapid response is crucial to containing an outbreak.
A No-Cost crowdsourcing tool
Fulcrum Community was created for use in emergencies like these. Government agencies, humanitarian groups, and other nonprofits use our powerful mobile data collection platform for free. This support helps communities recover from natural disasters or manage deadly outbreaks..
Organizations that have successfully used Fulcrum include the Clinton Health Access Initiative, Harvard School of Public Health, Johns Hopkins Bloomberg School of Public Health, and Malaria Consortium.
If you’re in an area experiencing an outbreak of Ebola, Cholera, or other infectious disease and want to help, sign up for a Fulcrum Community account here.
Download the Cholera Field Level Monitoring Form
Download the Ebola Infection Data Form
Fulcrum is a data collection platform that enables businesses to reduce costs, access critical data in real time, and improve decision making at every level. With Fulcrum, you can create custom apps using our simple drag-and-drop builder to turn your paper documents into digital forms that your field teams can quickly complete on mobile devices.