Why is cholera a public health problem?
Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by eating or drinking food or water that is contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. Cholera remains a global threat to public health and is an indicator of inequity and lack of social development. Cholera is often predictable and preventable. …
What did the government do to stop cholera?
The government took responsibility for health for the first time, with the 1848 Public Health Act which set up a permanent General Board of Health in the light of the second cholera epidemic.
Why is cholera called Blue Death?
Cholera has been nicknamed the “blue death” because a person’s skin may turn bluish-gray from extreme loss of fluids.
Who discovered cause of cholera?
The germ responsible for cholera was discovered twice: first by the Italian physician Filippo Pacini during an outbreak in Florence, Italy, in 1854, and then independently by Robert Koch in India in 1883, thus favoring the germ theory over the miasma theory of disease.
When does cholera become endemic in an area?
Epidemiology, risk factors, and disease burden. Cholera can be endemic or epidemic. A cholera-endemic area is an area where confirmed cholera cases were detected during the last 3 years with evidence of local transmission (meaning the cases are not imported from elsewhere).
Where was the first cholera epidemic in India?
One of the first detailed accounts of a cholera epidemic comes from Gaspar Correa—Portuguese historian and author of Legendary India—who described an outbreak in the spring of 1543 of a disease in the Ganges Delta, which is located in the south Asia area of Bangladesh and India.
How long does it take to show symptoms of cholera?
Cholera is an extremely virulent disease that can cause severe acute watery diarrhoea. It takes between 12 hours and 5 days for a person to show symptoms after ingesting contaminated food or water (2). Cholera affects both children and adults and can kill within hours if untreated.
What can be done to prevent the spread of cholera?
Provision of safe water and sanitation is critical to prevent and control the transmission of cholera and other waterborne diseases. Oral cholera vaccines should be used in conjunction with improvements in water and sanitation to control cholera outbreaks and for prevention in areas known to be high risk for cholera.