Cholera, a waterborne and foodborne disease, is spreading in the world. According to the WHO, about one billion people in 43 countries are at risk of getting cholera.
In September 2022, the WHO announced a large-scale spread of cholera. Its death rate has tripled from the five-year average, reports Asia-Plus.
It has not shown any alarming prevalence in Central Asia but there is still the need for a number of preventive measures against cholera.
The website of CDC (Centers of Disease Control and Prevention) of the United States is one of the excellent sources to find prevention and treatment regimes for Cholera.
CDC main page on Cholera
https://www.cdc.gov/cholera/illness.html
Here we are reproducing some of the information from the CDC website.
Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with Vibrio cholerae bacteria. People can get sick when they swallow food or water contaminated with cholera bacteria. The infection is often mild or without symptoms, but can sometimes be severe and life-threatening.
About 1 in 10 people with cholera will experience severe symptoms, which, in the early stages, include:
- profuse watery diarrhea, sometimes described as “rice-water stools”
- vomiting
- thirst
- leg cramps
- restlessness or irritability
Healthcare providers should look for signs of dehydration when examining a patient with profuse watery diarrhea. These include:
- rapid heart rate
- loss of skin elasticity
- dry mucous membranes
- low blood pressure
People with severe cholera can develop severe dehydration, which can lead to kidney failure. If left untreated, severe dehydration can lead to shock, coma, and death within hours.
The profuse diarrhea produced by cholera patients contains large amounts of the infectious Vibrio cholerae germ that can infect others if swallowed. This can happen when the bacteria get on food or into water.
The people with type O blood group are twice at risk of getting cholera.
To prevent the bacteria from spreading, all feces (human waste) from sick persons should be thrown away carefully to ensure it does not contaminate anything nearby.
People caring for cholera patients must wash their hands thoroughly after touching anything that might be contaminated with patients’ feces (poop).
The drinking water should be safe and free from any bacteria. Not just for drinking but safe water should also be used for brushing the teeth and cooking the food. If safe water is not readily available, use the water from the tap but boil it before consumption. The healthcare authorities may consider providing chlorine treatment products to the people in localities where safe water is not freely and abundantly available.
The CDC recommends that if the water cannot be boiled for any reason and chlorine products are also not available, the thing to do is to add 2 drops of household bleach to a liter of water, wait for 30 minute and then consume it. However, we recommend that it should be done only if a healthcare professional specifically recommends it.
Frequent washing of hands with ordinary soap, particularly after using the toilet, is a good practice not just against cholera but a number of other diseases. The children should be taught to make it a permanent habit.
In the areas where the drainage system is not available the toilet refuse (poop and urine) should be collected in plastic bags and disposed at least 30 meters away from any body of water and preferably buried in the ground.
In the areas where there is the need to dig a toilet pit, it should be at least 0.5 meter deep, preferably more, and be at least 30 meters away from any body of water.
When cholera patients are treated quickly, they usually recover without long-term consequences. Cholera patients do not typically become carriers of the cholera bacteria after they recover, but they get sick if exposed again.
The treatment includes rehydration therapy and antibiotics. Zinc treatment for children with cholera symptoms has also shown good results.
The vaccination against cholera is recommended where possible.
The prevention and treatment against Cholera, as with many other diseases, is a shared responsibility of the healthcare authorities and the people. With the populations acting responsibly, Cholera and many other diseases can be prevented from spreading. /// nCa, 26 February 2023