When the novel coronavirus SARS-CoV-2 began spreading through China, researchers in the Johns Hopkins Center for Humanitarian Health thought immediately of the Rohingya living in the Kutupalong-Balukhali Expansion Site in Cox’s Bazar, Bangladesh. These refugees, living in highly concentrated numbers (more than 600,000 in less than five square miles), were at immense risk of an infectious disease transmissible by air. A model prepared by the researchers found that, in the worst-case scenario, nearly every person in the expansion site could become infected. Springing to action, they shared their findings with the UN high commissioner for refugees, and with the health authorities in Bangladesh to mobilize a response.
But months after the first case of coronavirus was detected in Cox’s Bazar, the number of infected Rohingya numbered less than 150—tiny, tiny numbers compared to the scientists’ models and projections. This article explores the mystery of why the Rohingya—a vulnerable community living in conditions seemingly ripe for broad transmission—appeared to resist an emerging infectious disease that would claim so many lives around the world.
From the Judges
The article brought a sense of urgency and importance to an overlooked subject/people group without going overboard. It conveyed the university's science and research expertise in a way that makes sense to a general audience.
