| Cholera is an acute intestinal infection caused by toxigenic Vibrio cholerae O-group 1 or O-group
139. The infection is often mild and self-limited or subclinical. Patients with severe
cases respond dramatically to simple fluid- and electrolyte-replacement therapy. Infection
is acquired primarily by ingesting contaminated water or food; person-to-person
transmission is rare. Since 1961, V. cholerae has spread from Indonesia
through most of Asia into Eastern Europe and Africa, and from North Africa to the Iberian
Peninsula. In 1991, an extensive epidemic began in Peru and spread to neighboring
countries in the Western Hemisphere. In 2001, nearly 185,000 cases from 58 countries
were reported to the WHO.
A person may get cholera by drinking water or eating food contaminated with the cholera
bacterium. In an epidemic, the source of the contamination is usually the feces of an
infected person. The disease can spread rapidly in areas with inadequate treatment of
sewage and drinking water.
The cholera bacterium may also live in the environment in brackish rivers and coastal
waters. Shellfish eaten raw have been a source of cholera, and a few persons in the United
States have contracted cholera after eating raw or undercooked shellfish from the Gulf of
Mexico. The disease is not likely to spread directly from one person to another;
therefore, casual contact with an infected person is not a risk for becoming ill.
In the United States, cholera was prevalent in the 1800s but has been virtually
eliminated by modern sewage and water treatment systems. However, as a result of improved
transportation, more persons from the United States travel to parts of Latin America,
Africa, or Asia where epidemic cholera is occurring. U.S. travelers to areas with epidemic
cholera may be exposed to the cholera bacterium. In addition, travelers may bring
contaminated seafood back to the United States; foodborne outbreaks have been caused by
contaminated seafood brought into this country by travelers.
Phage Therapy
Brittanica
Bacteriophage
ICMR, Indian Council of Medical Research
Cholera Bacteriophages
Revisited
Medical Information
CDC
Cholera
Disaster Relief
What
is Cholera
Center for Food Safety and Applied Nutrition
Vibrio cholerae
Serogroup O1 |
