Cholera is a diarrheal disease that is caused by the bacterium '' Vibrio cholerae . '' '' V. cholerae '' has been a popular bacterium for phylodynamic analysis after the 2010 cholera outbreak in Haiti . The cholera outbreak happened right after the 2010 earthquake in Haiti , which caused critical infrastructure damage , leading to the conclusion that the outbreak was most likely due to the '' V. cholerae '' bacterium being introduced naturally to the waters in Haiti from the earthquake . Soon after the earthquake , the UN sent MINUSTAH troops from Nepal to Haiti . Rumors started circulating about terrible conditions of the MINUSTAH camp , as well as people claiming that the MINUSTAH troops were deposing of their waste in the Artibonite River , which is the major water source in the surrounding area . Soon after the MINUSTAH troops arrival , the first cholera case was reported near the location of the MINUSTAH camp . Phylodynamic analysis was used to look into the source of the Haiti cholera outbreak . Whole genome sequencing of '' V. cholerae '' revealed that there was one single point source of the cholera outbreak in Haiti and it was similar to O1 strains circulating in South Asia . Before the MINUSTAH troops from Nepal were sent to Haiti , a cholera outbreak had just occurred in Nepal . In the original research to trace the origin of the outbreak , the Nepal strains were not available . Phylodynamic analyses were performed on the Haitian strain and the Nepalese strain when it became available and affirmed that the Haitian cholera strain was the most similar to the Nepalese cholera strain . This outbreak strain of cholera in Haiti showed signs of an altered or hybrid strain of '' V. cholerae '' associated with high virulence . Typically high quality single-nucleotide polymorphisms ( hqSNP ) from whole genome '' V. cholerae '' sequences are used for phylodynamic analysis . Using phylodynamic analysis to study cholera helps prediction and understanding of '' V. cholerae '' evolution during bacterial epidemics
2010 earthquake in Haiti
2010 Haiti earthquake
Bacterial phylodynamics