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Vibrio Cholera Essay

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Vibrio cholerae, the Human Immune System, and Vaccines

Cholera remains a drastically severe disease, killing hundreds of people each outbreak. When ingested, it attaches to the mucosal lining of the intestines and disrupts the normal flow of ions so that there is more sodium, chloride, and water in the intestinal lumen than normal and results in massive diarrhea. Cholera has made a global impact and been endemic in almost all parts of the world. Cholera control strongly emphasizes sanitation, clean drinking water, isolation, and careful food preparation. Two ways our body works against cholera as a self-limiting disease are sloughing cells and the secretory immunoglobulin (sIgA) antibody produced by mucus throughout our body. There are …show more content…

Although the mucosa itself does not appear to be damaged by CT, the net flow of Na+ into tissue is decreased and the net flow of Cl- and water out of tissue is increased so as a result, there is more Na+, Cl-, and water in the lumen than there should be. This leads to massive diarrhea and great electrolyte imbalance. A patient with severe cholera can lose up to 20L of water a day (Salyers A., Abigail, 141). At times, diarrhea becomes so dilute it is almost clear, containing flecks of mucus that it is called rice water stool because of its watery consistency (Salyers A., Abigail, 142). This rapid rate of water loss and dehydration is tremendously fatal. At its most extreme, symptoms emerge in 3-4 hours, previously healthy patients can die within 6-8 hours of infection, and more commonly go into shock 6-12 hours after infection and die within 18 hours (Weekly Epidemiological Record, 6). Cholera’s level of severity is very life threatening and remains a big problem even in our world today. Almost 100 countries worldwide are still affected by cholera and it’s virtually impossible to completely prevent an outbreak. If left alone, this rapidly infectious disease can cause many fatalities. However, improved methods for surveillance, diagnosis, and treatment, paired with higher standards of sanitation and personal

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