There have been
reported cases of recent deaths as a result of Cholera outbreak in Lagos,
Nigeria in the last few weeks. We offer insight into what to be done to avoid
being a victim.
Cholera is a
disease caused by bacteria that produce a watery diarrhea (loose frequent
stooling) that can rapidly lead to dehydration and even death if untreated.
Causes
It is caused by
eating food or drinking water contaminated with the bacterium called Vibrio cholera.
Vibrio cholerae,
the bacterium that causes cholera, is usually found in food or water
contaminated by feces from a person with the infection.
Common sources include:
- Municipal water supplies
- Foods and drinks sold by street vendors
- Vegetables grown with water containing human wastes
- Raw or under-cooked fish and seafood caught in waters polluted with
sewage
When a person
consumes the contaminated food or water, the bacteria release a toxin in the
intestines that produces severe diarrhea.
The disease is
most common in places with poor sanitation, crowding, war, and famine.
It is not likely
you will catch cholera just from casual contact with an infected person.
Symptoms
Cholera symptoms
and signs include a rapid onset of copious, smelly diarrhea that resembles rice
water and may lead to signs of dehydration (for example, vomiting, wrinkled
skin/ loss of skin elasticity), low blood pressure, rapid heart rate, dry
mucous membranes, including the inside of the mouth, throat, nose, and eyelids,
thirst, and muscle cramps. Symptoms of cholera can begin as soon as a few hours
or as long as five days after infection. Often symptoms are mild. But sometimes
they are very serious.
Prevention
However, you can
protect yourself and your family by using only water that has been boiled, water
that has been chemically disinfected or bottled water. Be sure to use the
bottled, boiled, or chemically disinfected water for the following purposes:
Drinking, Preparing food or drinks, Making ice, Brushing your teeth, Washing
your face and hands, Washing dishes and utensils that you use to eat or prepare
food, Washing fruits and vegetables, To disinfect your own water, boil it for
one minute or filter it and add two drops of bleach or one-half of an iodine
tablet per liter of water. You should also avoid raw foods, including the
following:
Unpeeled fruits
and vegetables, unpasteurized milk and milk products, raw or undercooked meat
or shellfish, fish caught in tropical reefs, which may be contaminated.
Treatment
Hydration is the
mainstay of treatment for cholera through fluid and electrolyte replacement,
both oral and IV. Antibiotics usually are used in severe infections in which
dehydration has occurred. Cholera can be prevented with appropriate measures
such as safe drinking water and non-contaminated foods; some protection can be
obtained from oral vaccines while avoiding areas where cholera commonly occurs
or has had a recent outbreak.
Although there
is a vaccine against cholera, the CDC and World Health Organization don't
normally recommend it because it may not protect up to half of the people who
receive it and it lasts only a few months.
If you develop
severe, watery diarrhea and vomiting -- particularly after eating raw shellfish
or traveling to a country where cholera is epidemic -- seek medical help
immediately. Cholera is highly treatable, but because dehydration can happen
quickly, it's important to get cholera treatment right away.
-Source (Internet)
