Vibrio Cholera Epidemic

3. Epidemiologists often draw causal webs to illustrate the interrelationships among biological, social, and environmental variables that contribute to disease outbreak. Based on what you have learned so far, what variables should be included in a causal web for cholera?

Some of the most emerging and re-emerging agents of the waterborne diseases are; Cholera which is caused by the ingestion of water that is infected by Vibrio Cholerae. This is a painless form of diarrhea characterized by watery stool. Dysentery which is caused by Escherichia Coli. Typhoid that is caused by Salmonella typhi which is usually accompanied by fever is yet another disease. Gastroenteritis diseases caused by Giardia and Cryptosporodia and some species of hepatitis are also known to be caused by water (CDC, 2011). These disease causing agents find their way into the human body through infected water that people from the poorer communities in Uganda use and have no option of cleaner water.

Outbreaks of cholera were not isolated to the European and Asian continents, as several major cases within the United States have been recorded back to colonial times. As trade increased with the old world, infected sailors bringing the disease to major port cities, spreading it even further as products became distributed across the nation. Famously documented as one of the most vital turning points for public health medicine within the US, the city of Chicago mirrored what was unfolding in the 1854 London outbreak. Congruent to Snow’s findings, entire families suddenly became severely ill and dying off. As an effort to combat the pestilence, Ellis Chesbrough, an already established railroad engineer, designed a series of sewer systems modeled

The summer sickness of 1607 kills half the colonists, states Document E (Fausz 63). If half of the colonists die in one summer by disease, now there are half the people to build, cook, and farm. According to Blanton in Document A, “... disease… where filth introduced into the river tended to fester rather than flush away” (55). If you dump your filth into the rivers and you have to drink that water. Disease will occur.

Although most disease struck the poorest, the upper class was not fully immune. Because people wanted to move to cities to make their lives better, they were forced to live around these diseases without proper means for prevention, protection, and recovery. Once contracting the disease, they would either die within hours or suffer from uncontrollable diarrhea and pain. In addition, scientific knowledge on disease was not as developed as it fortunately is today. Doctors had not yet learned the concept of a germ theory and instead associated the disease with the “bad air” that surrounded toxic, polluted cities. This “bad air” was known as miasa and was incorrectly used to explain the spread of cholera in major cities during the mid 1800s. After studies and research, doctors noticed that there was a heavy concentration of miasmata near certain rivers, but they still connected it to a lack of air quality in bustling cities such as Manchester, London, and Paris. Although air pollution and coal emissions did play a role in certain illnesses, they were not the main cause for diseases such as cholera. Poor ventilation, dirty homes, malnourishment, and no access to clean water made people easily susceptible to a ruthless disease like cholera. Moreover, causes of cholera were investigated more thoroughly after John Snow’s theory claimed that cholera was spread through the water John Snow was an English physician who is today considered one of the fathers of modern epidemiology, the branch of medicine that deals with the distribution and control of diseases relating to health. Finally, doctors could see cholera in a new light and were able to find better means of protection and prevention for its victims. Today, doctors recognize the germ theory of disease which states that some diseases are caused by microorganisms, and not just by “bad

It affects both children and adults and kills within hours. To put this information in other words, Cholera is intense and very deadly that kills most in a very short amount of time. Another example of the symptoms in detail,”Among people who develop symptoms 80% have mild or moderate symptoms while around 20% develop acute watery diarrhea with severe dehydration. This can lead to death if not treated.” To repeat, most people have medium symptoms, or not so bad, but some have it so bad that they could die if they don’t get help. So obviously back in 1854 they were just realizing what cholera was and had no treatment so they just died. Now let’s find out just exactly how cholera struck in the epidemic of 1854.

Water-borne diseases are caused by the ingestion of water contaminated by pathogenic bacteria, viruses, or parasites. These pathogens are spread through the feces or urine of an infected individual (africaneeds). The most common diseases are cholera, guinea worm and typhoid. People can easily contract these diseases if there is no system of sewage collection and treatment. In fact, almost 2.5 billion people worldwide do not have access to adequate sanitation (UN water). Climate change can also impact the water crisis in Africa. Water is necessary for survival, and when areas get

Cholera remains a drastically severe disease, killing hundreds of people each outbreak. When ingested, it attaches to the mucosal lining of the intestines and disrupts the normal flow of ions so that there is more sodium, chloride, and water in the intestinal lumen than normal and results in massive diarrhea. Cholera has made a global impact and been endemic in almost all parts of the world. Cholera control strongly emphasizes sanitation, clean drinking water, isolation, and careful food preparation. Two ways our body works against cholera as a self-limiting disease are sloughing cells and the secretory immunoglobulin (sIgA) antibody produced by mucus throughout our body. There are

The cholera has been the most terrifying disease spreading in London in the middle of nineteenth century, which is an infection caused by strains of the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. In the summertime of 1854 London was known as one of the most advanced and fashionable cities in the world with almost 2.5 million people living there. Because of the overpopulation, the city was having a difficult time to provide basic needs for the residents. According to Johnson (2006) the biggest existing problem within the city at that time was its lack of waste removal system. The human trash was piling up from the houses to the rivers and drinking water, which has led to the perfect conditions for a number of diseases and more precisely that is when the cholera

Cholera has re-emerged as a major infectious disease in the recent past with a global increase in its incidence. In 1994, cholera cases were notified from 94 countries-the highest ever number of countries in one year (WHO, 1995). Two disturbing aspects of global cholera picture in 1990s have been-dramatic and unexpected reappearance of epidemic cholera caused by V.cholerae 01 E1T or in Latin America after 100 years absence from the region and unexpected appearance in 1992 in South India of an epidemic strain of Vibrio cholera non-01, classified as V.cholerae 0139 Bengal. It indicates that cases have increased in all the continents in the last few years; due to change in environments which has created conducive atmosphere for the spread of cholera. Cholera is international notifiable disease and its occurrence is regularly reported to WHO. Trade embargo or restrictions are imposed on countries that report cholera. WHO had never documented any outbreak resulting from commodities imported from cholera endemic areas. Cholera outbreak in Haiti reported 60240 cases and 1415 deaths upto 20th November 2010. Cholera is a water-born acute diarrhoeas disease caused by bacilli V.cholerae. The severity of the disease vary from symptom less to severe infections, majority of the cases are mild or asymptomatic. Cholera is endemic in all the countries except Korea, where cholera has not been officially reported since 1968. 7th endemic is still continuing to spread involving 92

The spread of cholera was greatly facilitated during the nineteen century due to the lack of public waste management systems, like sewage systems and garbage disposal systems. The Ghost Map and the visit to the New York Academy of Medicine broadened my knowledge of the outbreaks of cholera in London and New York. Night-soil men in London had to remove overflowing of human feces from the basements of civilians because there was not a better means of disposal for the waste during that period of time. Deplorable sanitary on street corners and overflowing of garbage cans in New York elevated the cholera epidemic. As a result of this unsanitary behavior in both countries, water became contaminated and thus increase the spread of cholera. However,

There are other common sources of cholera bacterium are surface or well water, seafood, raw fruits and vegetables, and grains. In water, Vibrio cholerae can survive for long periods of time, staying dormant. People in areas with poor sanitation, like crowded refugee camps, are at risk of cholera, due to the fact that water provided for said community could be a source of contamination of cholera bacteria. Seafood, when raw or undercooked, can be contaminated by cholera bacteria, if the seafood came from certain areas with contaminated waters. Since the 1970s, cholera outbreaks in the U.S. have been caused by smuggled seafood from cholera-infected areas, and from the Gulf of Mexico. Shellfish are especially contaminated, due to the fact that “they filter large amounts of water, concentrating the levels of cholera bacteria”. Raw fruits—especially unpeeled—and vegetables coming from an area with a source of cholera are another frequent source of the cholera bacteria. Innoculation of the fruits

The authors have presented three critical graphs in this article. The first one is a thematic map of cholera case density in Yemen. The map shows that western Yemen is the most heavily affected, several parts of which have reached an infection rate of 300 per 10,000 people. In the second graph, a comparison is made among the cholera outbreaks in different countries in the past 50 years, while Yemen mounted towards other largest outbreaks such as those in Peru (1991) and Haiti (2011). The third one

The rehydration with plenty of fluids, whether oral or intravenous is the prime method to treat patients with cholera. The use of antibiotics along with rehydration is the preferred method of treatment for cholera. The antibiotics help stop the growth of the bacteria thus killing off any bacteria that is present. Some of the antibiotics that are used are Ciprofloxacin, Doxycycline, and Azithromycin.

Natural disasters like tropical cyclones, geophysical disasters (earth quakes) and geomorphic disasters (avalanches and landslides) all these could lead to outbreaks of infectious disease. There would be an increase in death which is directly associated with trauma, burn and crush – related