Diarrhoea Essay

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Diarrhoea is the process of passing watery faeces, accompanied by symptoms such as stomach pains, nausea and vomiting (betterheath). It is very widespread, being experienced by lots of people several times a year and is usually easily treatable (webmd). However, not all cases of diarrhoea are as simple. In fact, some diarrhoeal cases are life-threatening, killing approximately 760 000 children under the age of five each year (WHO1).

Responsible bacterium and its natural environment
The bacterium responsible for severe diarrhoeal disease (scientifically known as cholera) is a gram-negative, facultatively anaerobic, curved, rod-shaped microorganism known as Vibrio cholera (WHO2 pdf p. 119). According to figure “how it spreads” and microbiologyonline, V. cholera occurs naturally in aquatic sources such as saline waters. This pathogen, which uses humans as its hosts, usually inhabits in neutral or alkaline environments, and hence is sensitive to acidic pH (microbiologyonline). However, when this microorganism is consumed in large amounts through contaminated water for example, it is po...

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