Cholera

Asian cholera or just cholera is a water-borne disease caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. When you drink contaminated water or eat fish that hasn’t been cooked well, it’s likely that you will get cholera.

Causes: Like Hepatitis A, cholera too is transmitted by the fecal-oral route by drinking contaminated water or food. Though the link is still not known, those with blood group O are at a greater risk of developing El Tor cholera.

Symptoms: The symptoms of cholera range from mild to severe and comprise the following:

How it spreads: The main culprit of cholera is contaminated water containing the cholera bacterium. This bacterium is also found in brackish rivers and coastal waters. If you eat raw shellfish, you’re sure to get cholera, but this does not spread from person to person. You could also get it when feces are exposed due to poor hygiene levels and quality of food and water.

Diagnosis: First, your doctor will examine you and ask you about your medical history and which countries you have visited recently. He may then send your stool sample for lab testing to find out if you do in fact have cholera.

Treatment: Since fluid loss is so excessive in this condition, the doctor will try to rehydrate you and replace electrolytes. Antibiotics are also given to stop you losing any more fluids-adults are given Tetracycline and children are given Erythromycin.

Prevention: Good water and sanitation systems are the first step to cure cholera-something that was done in the United States and Western Europe. Apart from this, cholera can be prevented in these ways:

• Patients’ stools should be disposed of regularly.
• General sewage should be treated before it enters the waterways.
• Water bodies should have a warning about cholera contamination posted around them.
• Boil, filter and chlorinate water before drinking.

Vaccination: Cholera vaccine is only 50% effective in preventing its outbreak. It comprises two doses of vaccine given at an interval of one week to one month. The injection gives pain, and redness for a couple of days, and perhaps fever and a headache too.

You should not take the vaccine if you have a respiratory disease of any other active infection or if you are undergoing any immunosuppressive therapy involving cortisone-type medication or cancer chemotherapy, because your immunity will be very low. Also, babies below the age of six months should not be given this vaccine.

Home remedies:

• Eat lemon with your food every day.
• Take the root bark of guava in a decoction of water twice a day.
• Pound 30 gm of onions and seven black peppers finely and take it in a couple of doses everyday.
• Make a juice of bitter gourd and mix it with an equal quantity of white onion juice and a teaspoon of lime juice and take it twice a day.

If you suffer from cholera, don’t despair. Help is always at hand and you will recover soon.

• Hepatitis A
• Hepatitis B
• Malaria
• Typhoid fever
• Cholera
• Traveller's Diarrhea
• Traveler's Thrombosis