King Cholera
Cholera is one of many diseases that has caused great suffering for many people throughout human history. After seven pandemics over the course of two hundred years, the disease still remains a threat for many people. Cholera can kill and spread quickly, making it very dangerous and referred to as “King Cholera”. The disease is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Specifically, two O antigens in the cell wall, O1 and O139, cause cholera. These antigens produce an enterotoxin that severely dehydrates victims by causing them to release massive amounts of fluid that looks like rice water. There are two biotypes of the O1 antigen that have caused a majority of the cholera outbreaks, classical and El Tor. Historically, the classical biotype was responsible for the outbreaks in the 19th and early 20th centuries and the El Tor biotype is responsible for the outbreaks since the 20th century. At the moment, Haiti the disease is endemic to Haiti and still infecting people.
The first outbreaks of cholera were largely influenced by trade routes and the environment the bacteria lives in. People who drink water contaminated by Vibrio cholerae are quickly infected by the organism. Once inside the human, the enterotoxins are released and target the small intestines. Once there, the person will experience extreme diarrhea. Patients being treated for cholera will be put on beds specially designed to compensate for this loss of fluid by having a hole cut in the bed that leads to a bucket that will catch the fluid as it is excreted. For people who are not hospitalized, this loss of fluid greatly contributes to the transmission of the bacteria. People who do not properly excrete their waste, by neglecting to use a bathroom or by being too close to a body of water, the bacteria is able to make it back into an environment that allows for further transmission. People who use water for drinking or washing food or clothes, are potentially exposed to the bacteria if someone irresponsibly excreted their waste. This also exposes travelers to the disease because they are constantly moving from water source to water source and have a high risk of encountering the bacteria or delivering it to a new body of water. The recent El Tor cholera biotype is even more transmittable than the classical biotype. The El Tor biotype is capable of living in more extreme environments, making it easier to move from water source to water source. Also, this biotype causes less severe symptoms thereby increasing the likelihood that a person infected with the disease will travel. This mode of transmission has allowed the disease to spread to countries that do not properly take care of their water supply.
During the third cholera pandemic in the 19th century, people believed the disease was spread via miasma or a contagion. However, researchers were able to identify the mode of transmission of cholera. Dr. Jon Snow was able to figure out how people in London were getting the disease. He took a map and recorded all deaths caused by the disease. He was helped by Reverend Henry Whitehead who was knowledgeable of the local population and assisted Snow in identifying a well that was contaminated with cholera. Around the same time, Filippo Pacini was studying victims of cholera in Italy. He took samples from the dead and examined them under a microscope where he identified a comma shaped bacillus. He was also able to accurately describe the mechanism of the disease and create an effective treatment. Pacini was largely ignored and was only recognized for his work in the 20th century. A more famous researcher, Robert Koch was initially credited with the discovery of Vibrio cholerae and also came to similar conclusions as Pacini. Koch had already discovered the bacteria responsible for Anthrax and Tuberculosis and found Vibrio cholerae on a research trip to Calcutta. These discoveries quickly became the foundation of new methods of studying disease outbreaks.
As recently as 2010, cholera outbreaks are still affecting people today. The El Tor biotype contaminated an important river in Haiti after a devastating earthquake. Within a year, over 6,000 people died from the disease. The discovery that the biotype of the outbreak was El Tor led researchers to believe that cholera had entered the country from an external source. The ability of El Tor to live in extreme environments allowed the bacteria to travel far distances and become endemic to Haiti. Compounded by the fact that much of Haiti’s infrastructure was destroyed and much of the country was flooded, the disease was easily able to spread. As of 2016, 800,000 Haitians were affected by the disease and around 10,000 have died. The UN took responsibility for spreading the disease to Haiti and causing the outbreaks. An oral vaccine has been created and people are doing what they can to have proper toilets and facilities available to prevent further spread of the disease.
All Information Was Taken From The PowerPoint On Canvas