Cholera
hideCholera, sometimes known as Asiatic or epidemic cholera, is an infectious gastroenteritis caused by enterotoxin-producing strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Transmission to humans occurs through eating food or drinking water contaminated with Vibrio cholerae from other cholera patients. The major reservoir for cholera was long assumed to be humans themselves, but considerable evidence exists that aquatic environments can serve as reservoirs of the bacteria.
Vibrio cholerae is a Gram-negative bacterium that produces cholera toxin, an enterotoxin, whose action on the mucosal epithelium lining of the small intestine is responsible for the disease's most salient characteristic, exhaustive diarrhea. In its most severe forms, cholera is one of the most rapidly fatal illnesses known, and a healthy person's blood pressure may drop to hypotensive levels within an hour of the onset of symptoms; infected patients may die within three hours if medical treatment is not provided. In a common scenario, the disease progresses from the first liquid stool to shock in 4 to 12 hours, with death following in 18 hours to several days, unless oral rehydration therapy is provided.
The majority of reported cholera cases worldwide occur in Africa. It is estimated that most cases of cholera are unreported due to poor surveillance systems, particularly in Africa. Fatality rates are 5% of total cases in Africa, and less than 1% elsewhere. For a map of recent international outbreaks, see:[3]
For more information about Cholera, read the full article at
Wikipedia.
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News tagged with cholera
New insight into predicting cholera epidemics in the Bengal Delta
Nov 04, 2009 |
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Cholera, an acute diarrheal disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae, has reemerged as a global killer. Outbreaks typically occur once a year in Africa and Latin America. But in Bangladesh the epidemics occur twice ...
To save lives, an Indian doctor rethinks the toilet
Aug 23, 2009 |
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By rethinking the humble toilet, Indian sanitation expert Bindeshwar Pathak has found a way that can save water -- and lives -- in developing countries.
Institute develops cheap cholera vaccine
Medicine & Health / Medications
Apr 20, 2009 |
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An international health organisation said Monday it has developed the world's first cheap cholera vaccine which has been licensed in India, paving the way for its global use.
Intestinal parasites alter immunity in cholera patients
Mar 31, 2009 |
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Cholera patients also infected with parasitic intestinal worms have a significantly reduced immune response to the cholera toxin, according to a report published March 31st in the open-access journal PLoS Neglected Tropical Di ...
Vibrio bacteria found in Norwegian seafood and seawater
Feb 24, 2009 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- While working on her doctorate, Anette Bauer Ellingsen discovered potentially disease-causing vibrios (Vibrio cholerae, V. parahaemolyticus and V. vulnificus) in Norwegian seafood and inshore ...
Hidden infections crucial to understanding, controlling disease outbreaks
Sep 22, 2008 |
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Scientists and news organizations typically focus on the number of dead and gravely ill during epidemics, but research at the University of Michigan suggests that less dramatic, mild infections lurking in large numbers of ...
Scientists use remote satellite imaging to predict outbreaks of infectious disease
Sep 02, 2008 |
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Scientists in the USA have established a way to predict outbreaks of cholera, making it easier to control. This finding could provide a model to predict and potentially control outbreaks of other important infectious diseases.
Hidden infections crucial to understanding, controlling disease outbreaks
Aug 13, 2008 |
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(PhysOrg.com) -- Scientists and news organizations typically focus on the number of dead and gravely ill during epidemics, but research at the University of Michigan suggests that less dramatic, mild infections lurking in ...
