Cholera is described as a "forgotten disease" that primarily affects "forgotten people" around the world. This paper tries to give a quick overview over the history of its discovery, its epidemiology and the efforts undertaken to fight it.
Contents
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CHOLERA
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHOLERA
ATTEMPTS/ EFFORTS MADE TO RESOLVE CHOLERA
VULNERABLE SUBPOPULATIONS
RECOMMENDATIONS
REFERENCES
BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF CHOLERA
Cholera is a public health issue that causes avoidable morbidity and mortality. It inhibits and manipulates is a multi-sector accountability that involves a number of sectors or ministries, including local governments, water and the environment, and the private sector. The Ministry of Health is responsible for the coordination of cholera outbreak prevention, preparedness, and response. Cholera and other diseases continue to be a leading cause of morbidity and mortality in developing countries, particularly Ghana.
Cholera has been a long-time cause of outbreaks around the world, primarily in areas with insufficient water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services. Cholera originated in the Indian Subcontinent, cholera spread beyond the Ganges delta in 1817, and the current Vibrio Cholera El Tor pandemic started in 1961. Cholera is the leading cause of morbidity and death in Sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, with many cities serving as transmission hotspots. Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by drinking or eating water contaminated with toxigenic strains of the frame-negative bacterium Vibrio cholerae (J.B. Kaper, Morris, and Lavine 1995).
Cholera was thought to spread through miasma, or "bad air," in the early 1800s. It wasn't until the 1854 London cholera epidemic that John Snow demonstrated that inhabitants of the overcrowded city contracted cholera by drinking contaminated well water. When cholera struck Florence in the same year, Italian anatomist Filippo Pacini isolated the bacterium, but his findings were largely ignored. Robert Koch did not identify the pathogen as Vibrio cholera until an epidemic in Egypt in 1884.
Cholera is a preventable and treatable disease characterized by acute diarrhoea and the presence of the Vibrio Cholera bacterium in the intestine. It's usually spread by drinking contaminated water or eating food contaminated with cholera-causing bacteria from feces. Both children and adults are susceptible.
About 20% of those who are infected develop acute, watery diarrhoea, and 10%-20% of these men and women develop severe watery diarrhoea. Because the incubation period is so short (2 hours to 5 days), the number of these cases will explode very quickly. If these patients are not treated immediately and effectively, the loss of such large amounts of fluid and salts will result in severe dehydration and death within hours. The probability is 30-50 percent. Dehydration and excellent antibiotics, which can reduce CFR to less than 1%, are the cornerstones of cholera therapy.
EPIDEMIOLOGY OF CHOLERA
Cholera is described as a "forgotten disease" that primarily affects "forgotten people" around the world. It is brought to public attention when a large-scale cholera outbreak occurs, despite the fact that some underserved populations continue to suffer from cholera outbreaks on a regular basis. Cholera is the leading cause of diarrhoea epidemics in developing countries. In Asia, Africa, and Latin America, a global pandemic has been continuing for the past four decades. The majority of cases occur in endemic areas among children under the age of five and women of reproductive age. However, a number of studies conducted in various parts of the world have shown that cholera patients come in a wide range of ages.
Men and women between the ages of 25 and 44 had the best share of scenarios, while men and women over 65 had the lowest viable infection costs. Because people over the age of 65 have weakened immune systems. This distribution is not the same as the distribution of cholera cases in endemic areas. It interprets this disparity as a result of older people's occupational exposure and eating habits. The majority of studies have found a pattern of inequalities between richer and poorer humans, with cholera being more common in lower socioeconomic groups. In comparison to the general population, malnourished young people and people with low immunity, such as HIV patients, have a higher risk of dying from cholera.
Cholera infection prevalence, severity, and duration vary depending on a variety of factors around the world. Cholera is only found in Africa, the Middle East, and Southeast Asia. Cholera, on the other hand, is virtually eradicated in most developed countries. In the United States, the incidence is as low as 0–5 cases per year. In some countries such as Bangladesh and India, cholera infections appear each year. During the seventh pandemic, cholera spread to West Africa and Ghana. Various studies have found differences in cholera incidence between rural and urban areas. Due to a lack of basic sanitation infrastructure, Seplveda et al (2006) reported a high incidence of cholera in rural and suburban areas. According to other studies, cholera is more prevalent in urban areas due to overcrowding and unsanitary living conditions. In Ghana's urban areas, a lack of consistent water supply combined with indiscriminate sanitation practices raises the risk of cholera.
Cholera is also a serious threat in urban slum areas where safe drinking water is scarce. Vibrio cholerae can be found in tropical countries' coastal waters, rivers, and ponds. Cholera transmission is thought to be influenced by environmental factors such as nearby climate variability, temperature, and salinity.
Vibrio cholerae can be found in tropical countries' coastal waters, rivers, and ponds. Cholera transmission is influenced by environmental factors such as climate variability, temperature, and salinity. Drinking water that is safe to drink. Rapid urbanization can lead to overcrowding, unprotected water sources, and improper disposal of stable waste. Cholera outbreaks have been reported in urban areas.
ATTEMPTS/ EFFORTS MADE TO RESOLVE CHOLERA
Prevention, Preparedness, Response, and Surveillance Systems are some of the most important efforts made to help resolve Cholera.
To begin with, one of Ghana's efforts to combat Cholera is prevention. Access to a clean environment and good/safe drinking water should be improved. It promotes sanitation and good hygiene, as well as food safety education.
Second, Ghana is attempting to eliminate Cholera through preparedness. Train health workers in the detection, identification, reporting, and treatment of cholera cases, as well as the development of a district and national response plan during and after outbreaks. Scientific property placement at water stations, municipalities, and national levels. Chlorine tablets are used in the preposition and water remedy of treatment components at all levels.
However, there is still a crucial effort being made to help Ghana settle the Cholera outbreak. Detect, validate, file, and manipulate conditions in order to stop the spread of Cholera morbidity and death.
Finally, effective surveillance will assist in the eradication of Cholera in Ghana. Collect, analyze, and interpret archives on a regular basis at the district and national levels in order to detect a fire or disease outbreak early. Identify and list chemoprophylaxis contacts, and conduct an active case search for timely therapies.
VULNERABLE SUBPOPULATIONS
We used population data from the United Nations Development Program for 2005 to determine the population at risk of cholera in each area. According to UN data from 2008, the percentage of each nation's population without access to better sanitation was used. There was one exception: due to frequent and widespread flooding, it deemed Bangladesh's entire population to be at risk, based on advice from world cholera experts. For the three biggest cholera-endemic countries – China, India, and Indonesia – we only included the fraction of the population without access to improved sanitation in states and provinces where cholera had been confirmed (2000–2007 in China and Indonesia, and 1997–2006 in India).
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- Quote paper
- Abdul Samad (Author), 2017, Cholera. Epidemiology, Attempts to Fight It and Vulnerable Subpopulations, Munich, GRIN Verlag, https://www.grin.com/document/1010654
