Cholera (oct 5, 1814 – dec 1, 2018)

Description:

-Caused by bacteria called Vibrio cholerae
-Spread via the fecal-oral route
-Resistant to salt but sensitive to heat and acid
-Survives for a long time in the environment
-Grows fast in foods
-Only 2 of the 150 different serogroups cause disease, #1 and #139
-Started in India and traveled globally via trade routes
-Came to the US in 1832, where New York was the first to be hit
-An estimated 2-6 Americans died every day during the outbreak
-3500 died that summer which was about 1% of the population in New York
-Last documented US outbreak was in 1911
-Cholera is still present in Africa, Haiti, Southeast Asia and central Mexico
-5 points slum, mostly poor and marginalized, Irish, prostitutes and African Americans
-Ended up going to makeshift hospitals where 1/2 patients died
-Another epidemic in 1849 in New York, by the end of it 5071 were dead and 40% of those were Irish immigrants
-Bacteria remained in New York for next 12 years
-Named for the Greek word meaning Bile
-Rice water stool, viscous blood, violent vomiting, sudden onset in 6 hours which is why it was called the lightning disease, abdominal cramps, nausea, dehydration and shock
-1/4 amount of body fluid lost per hour from diarrhea and vomiting
-50% of people die of severe dehydration
-Only 1% die if treated with rehydration therapy
-Prevention should include cleaning clean water, wash hands, cook food appropriately, vaccination
-Cholera vaccine requires 1-2 doses, 80% are protected for 3 years, requires refrigeration
-65% reduction in cases in Haiti from vaccination

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