There are diseases that massively affected humanity many centuries ago, and unfortunately, still have not lost their strength. One of them can be attributed to cholera, which was expressed by Hippocrates. In those days, little was known about cholera, only at the beginning of the 19th century mankind began to conduct medical research, the spectrum of which embraced cholera.
The disease of cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. It refers to acute intestinal diseases, which are transmitted by the fecal-oral mechanism, and affect the small intestine.
Until the 20th century it remained one of the most dangerous diseases that cause the epidemic and take thousands of lives. Today, it does not cause such massive losses, because mankind has learned to resist and prevent cholera, however, in poor countries and especially in natural disasters, cholera still makes itself felt.
How is cholera transmitted?
Today it is quite difficult to assess the real picture of cholera outbreaks, because developing countries do not seek to report this because of fears of a decrease in the flow of tourists.
Cholera becomes widespread because of the ways in which it spreads. All of them can be described as fecal-oral. The source of the disease is always a person who is either sick or healthy, but is the carrier of the bacterium-pathogen.
By the way, Vibrio cholerae has more than 150 serogroups. Cholera is transmitted with the help of feces and vomit produced by a carrier (sick person) or a vibrio-carrier (a healthy person who has a cholera bacterium in the body).
So, the most common infection occurs under the following conditions:
- drinking non-contaminated water;
- getting into the mouth of water when swimming in polluted water bodies;
- washing dishes in dirty water;
- eating food that contains cholera bacteria (especially one that does not lend itself to hot cooking - seafood in Japanese cuisine, for example);
- the main ways of transferring cholera - through dirty hands (household way of infection);
- flies can also be carriers of cholera.
Symptoms of cholera
The incubation period of cholera is up to five days. Often it does not exceed 48 hours.
The course of the disease can be manifested by erased symptoms, but it is possible and its full manifestation, even to severe conditions, which end in a lethal outcome.
In many people, cholera can be expressed by acute diarrhea, and only 20% of patients, according to WHO, have cholera full, with typical symptoms.
There are three degrees of severity:
- At the first, mild degree, the patient develops diarrhea and vomiting. They can be repeated, but most often they take place only once. The greatest danger is due to dehydration of the body, and with a mild degree of fluid loss does not exceed 3% of body weight. This corresponds to dehydration of 1 degree. With such symptoms, patients usually do not consult a doctor, and they are found in foci. The disease stops within a few days.
- At the second, middle degree, the disease begins acutely and is accompanied by a frequent stool, which can reach 20 times a day. Pain in the abdomen is absent, but eventually this symptom is associated with vomiting without prior nausea. Because of this, the loss of fluid increases, and is about 6% of body weight, which corresponds to the 2 degree of dehydration. The patient is tortured by cramps, dry mouth and a hoarse voice. The disease is accompanied by tachycardia .
- At the third, severe degree, the stool becomes even more plentiful, vomiting also arises more often. The loss of fluid is about 9% of body weight, and this corresponds to the 3 degree of dehydration. Here, in addition to the more pronounced symptoms inherent in the 1 st and 2 nd degree, eye sagging, low blood pressure , wrinkles on the skin, asphyxia and a drop in temperature can occur.
Diagnosis of cholera
The diagnosis is confirmed on the basis of clinical studies of stool and vomit, if the symptoms are not too pronounced. With severe severity, cholera is not difficult to diagnose and without bacteriological analysis.
Prevention of cholera
The main methods of prevention are the observance of personal hygiene, as well as care when eating food. It is not necessary to eat poorly processed food (not cooked, baked, etc.), and also to drink drinks that did not pass control (as a rule, they are bottling shops in which the purity of dishes and water is questioned).
In epidemiological situations, quarantine is introduced, in which the sources of infection are isolated, and the places of their stay are disinfected.