Cholera is an infectious bacterial disease that affects people who live in poor or non-developing countries in which clean water and other sanitation measures are not found (Plaut 1). People usually acquire cholera when they drink water or eat food that is contaminated with Vibrio Cholerae, which is a bacterium that develops and infection in the walls of the small intestine. If left untreated cholera can be fatal in a matter of hours, even if you were healthy before, since it causes severe diarrhea and vomit which can then lead to dehydration (Mayo Clinic Staff). Most scientists believe that the first major cholera epidemic took place on 1817 in India. In this time many poor villagers were starving since crops couldn’t be grown. Because …show more content…
Some people with cholera have no signs or symptoms, but some cases are more drastic and can be life-threatening (cholera 2). The infection is often a calm illness with common diarrhea that can evolve without any symptoms, but the disease can still be passed on to another person. Usually, cholera begins with stomach pains without feeling sick and maybe a mild fever for a short time. Then vomiting and diarrhea begins and it may take several hours. Suddenly, the body starts losing a lot of water which may be as high as one litre per hour (Easmon 14). If treatment is not taken and fluids are not replaced, the water loss can exceed five to ten litres which is when the consequences can become fatal. If this happens, the body starts to get dehydrated and this can produce floppy skin, muscle cramps and a harsh voice. Also, it can affect the level of consciousness which leads to confusion and drowsiness. In children, the loss of electrolytes can cause convulsions or cardiac arrest (Easmon 16). Cholera is a disease that requires immediate treatment, since it can cause death within a short period of time. The treatment for this disease is really simple and effective. The primary treatment for cholera is to replace all the fluids and electrolytes lost through the diarrhea and vomiting. When people have mild dehydration, it is recommended to drink rehydration …show more content…
Everyone who drinks or eats food that have not been treated to eliminate V. cholerae is susceptible to cholera. “There has been an ongoing global pandemic in Asia, Africa (recently in Zimbabwe in 2008-2009), and Latin America for the last four decades”, this was said by the CDC on November 2012 (cholera 1). Epidemics occur in a country when there are natural disasters or other reasons that can cause the loss of sanitation and clean food or water. For example, after the earthquake in Haiti, the sanitary facilities were destroyed, therefore V. cholerae contaminated the waters and an outbreak of cholera began spreading through the neighboring countries (Giroux 73).
There are some persons that are more susceptible to cholera than others. People who are malnourished and live in poor and unsanitary conditions are most likely to get the disease. Also, children that are about two to four years old are at a higher risk than older children, since less bacteria is needed for cholera to become active. Researchers have also added that people with blood type O are twice more likely to develop cholera than others(cholera
Charles Rosenberg’s article Cholera in the nineteenth-century Europe: A tool for social and economic analysis evaluates the impact of epidemics on society and the changes that ensue as a result. It is Rosenberg’s view that most economic historians overlook the overall importance of epidemics by focusing primarily on economic growth. Rosenberg’s article aims to bring a more human approach to the Cholera epidemic while showing its potential to affect every aspect of society (453). Rosenberg believes epidemics are an event that show the social values and attitudes towards science, religion and innovation at that particular moment in time (452). His thesis for the article begs the question, what was needed at that time for the culmination of all
The bubonic plague, too, was a spontaneous epidemic. The Black Death occurred because a bacillus was carried by fleas that fed off the blood of humans and transmitted the deadly bacillus in the process (Packer). It began in China and spread by
still a factor that continuously infects humans. In Foodborne Diseases, it says that “They [Salmonell...
The main diseases that showed the most virulence during the time were cholera, yellow fever and consumption now known as tuberculosis. The 9th census mortality data showed that 1 out 7 deaths from disease were caused by tuberculosis and 1 out of 24 disease deaths were resulting from cholera. . Until the 1870s...
According to the textbook handling the body of a deceased cholera- infected person has not shown to spread the disease to the healthy medical examiner, unless it is followed by the lack of hand
Salmonella is one of the most common causes of food poisoning. It is a gram-negative, aerobic (oxygen requiring), rod-shaped bacterium that can infect humans, birds, reptiles, and other animals. It results in the swelling of the lining of the stomach and intestines. Salmonella food poisoning occurs worldwide, however it is most frequently reported in North America and Europe. In the United States, Salmonella is responsible for about 15% of all cases of food poisoning (Salmonella food poisoning).
Unlike the first cholera pandemic in 1817, the second one also affected countries in Europe and North America in addition to Asia. Of the seven total cholera pandemics, many consider this one the greatest of the 19th century. Cholera caused more deaths, more quickly than any other epidemic disease of the 1800s. It is an infectious disease that causes severe diarrhea that can lead to dehydration and death if untreated. Eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae causes cholera. After the first pandemic had diminished throughout Asia by1824, the disease began spreading again from Bengal in 1826. It began with outbreaks in the Ganges River of Bengal and quickly spread throughout most of India. It had moved into Afghanistan and Persia by 1829 and surfaced in Russia in August of that year. From Russia, the disease travelled to Poland and eventually Hungary, Germany, Berlin, England, Scotland, and Wales. While the disease was penetrating most of Europe, it had also reached areas in Mesopotamia and the Arabian Peninsula by 1831. Thousands of Muslim pilgrims from Mecca died from the disease and carried it into Palestine, Syria, and Egypt that year. Mecca continued to be infected by cholera until about 1912. The disease also reached Portugal in 1833, from an English ship that docked in Portugal. Cholera’s path east of India remains
This book follows an esteemed doctor and a local clergyman who, together, are the heart of an investigation to solve the mystery of the cholera epidemic. In 1854 London was ravaged by a terrible outbreak of cholera, where within the span of mere weeks over five hundred people in the Soho district died. London, at the time, was a city of around two and a half million people, all crammed into a small area with no system for sewage removal. With overflowing cesspools, improper drainage of all the human and animal waste, and no system for guaranteed clean water, the people of London were in a bad state. They were essentially dumping all of their feces into their drinking water supply, a perfect environment for cholera to thrive.
Introduction Cholera is an infectious disease that became a major threat to health during the 1800s. In the nineteenth century, there were extensive epidemics of cholera in Europe and America that killed thousands of people. In those times, the predominant theory behind disease transmission was the called Miasma theory; which suggested that diseases were spread through the bad air. In other words, particles from decomposed matter would become part of the air, and this dirty air spread the diseases. It was an elegant, but incorrect theory and its debunking took place when it was discovered that cholera was spread through a bacterium (Vibrio cholerae) in water.
Salmonella typhoid bacteria have over 100 strains in the world today. Most cause illness in humans, but only a few of those strains cause the illness Typhoid Fever (Pike, 2014). Typhoid is a bacterium that has been very devastating to the human race for centuries. Typhoid thrives in undeveloped countries and countries with high populations and poor sanitation procedures. But, it is still a relevant disease here in the United States because of its ease of spread once someone is infected (Pollack, 2003). Antibiotic treatment is usually successful when treating Typhoid Fever, but it still has the ability to cause death, even with treatment of advanced medicine and antibiotics. When one thinks of salmonella, they will most commonly think of a food borne illness (food poisoning symptoms) caused by eating raw or undercooked animal products such as undercooked chicken or pork. That is the effect of some strains of the bacteria, but not the one that causes typhoid fever (Pike, 2014).
Water-borne transmission refers to diseases that are acquired via usually contaminated freshwater. Infection occurs during bathing, swimming, drinking, preparing of food, or in the consumption of food that has been infected with a water-borne pathogen. Most of water-borne pathogens are protozoa, bacteria, viruses, and parasites. Common examples of water-borne pathogens are Cryptosporidium parvum, Giardia lamblia, Campylobacter jejuni, Vibrio cholerae, and Legionella pneumophila, along with man...
Cholera is still an extremely significant disease worldwide with over 5 million cases being reported per year (Ruiting & Reeves, 2002). Cholera is a diarrheal illness that progresses rapidly and is contracted by ingesting the bacterium Vibrio cholerae which causes an intestinal infection (CDC, 2013). In many cases the illness is mild with hardly any symptoms at all, but in some cases it can become severe. Approximately 5 percent of people who are infected exhibit severe symptoms such as extreme watery diarrhea, leg cramps, and vomiting (CDC, 2013). These symptoms usually occur at a rapid pace and unless treated can further lead to dehydration and shock which can ultimately cause death within hours. It is estimated that over 100,000 deaths occur each year around the world due to Cholera. (CDC, 2013)
Cholera was primitively native to the Indian subcontinent primarily around the Ganges river. The trade routes spread the disease to Russia, and then to Western Europe. During the Irish immigration period it was spread to North America. Cholera is no longer considered a critical health threat in North America and Europe due to filtering and chlorination of water supplies.However, it still affects developing countries and especially the children inhabiting them. (Balakrishnan/ 2008)
Cholera is a severe life threatening acute diarrhoeal disease which occurs at epidemic level. The disease is characterized by the sudden onset of nausea, vomiting and profuse watery (rice water) diarrhoea. Death may usually follows due to dehydration (briefly, excessive loss of body fluids with circulatory collapse), often within 24 hours of the onset of symptoms if untreated. It is a major public health concern in many developing countries especially in the Southern parts of Asia, parts of poverty driven Africa and underdeveloped Latin