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
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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
5. The release of a toxin from the cholera bacteria is what causes people to experience the dreadful symptoms. A negative health concern of killing the cholera at a quick rate is that since the phages will prevent symptoms from increasingly becoming worse, the “dead” cholera in the intestine may sit there for a longer amount of time instead of running straight through the person which may do more damage to the intestine.
1. Models are analogies that allow us to clarify hypotheses—proposed explanation of relationships between. What roles do models play in testing hypotheses?
The bacterium creates a specific type of toxin that unlocks chloride channels within the small intestine. As sodium chloride (NaCl) leaves the cells, water then follows, in a characteristic substance inclination to weaken the salt. Water surging out of intestinal cells leaves the body as looseness of the bowels. Cholera opens chloride channels, giving chloride and water a chance to leave cells. The CFTR protein does the opposite, instead of opening the chloride channel, it closes chloride channels preventing water and chloride from leaving the cells. [7] An individual with CF can't contract cholera, in light of the fact that the toxin can't open the chloride diverts in the small intestine. It is truly beneficial that individuals with Cystic fibrosis has an advantage when it comes to cholera, though today cholera has a treatment. Endeavors to stop the spread of cholera have been very successful; nonetheless, a major example of overcoming adversity has been treatment endeavors that have radically diminished mortality during the present pandemic. While cholera used to have a death rate >20%, with the improvement of oral rehydration treatment (ORT), the casualty rate for cholera has dropped to around
Pathogens are everywhere. They are in people, animals, and the environment. Pathogens come in a wide variety. The types are fungal, bacterial, viral, and other parasites. All pathogens can be dangerous, but two of them are more dangerous. These two types that more dangerous are fungal and bacterial. While both fungal and bacterial pathogens cause illness, they differ in the way they are transmitted, the way they are treated, and the diseases they cause.
Some of the measures that the government has encouraged to help curb the problem is boiling of water. This is the cheapest option since the government cannot afford offering iodine tablets and the water filters. The Uganda Red Cross Society has also done its best during every outbreak of cholera like the severe 2006 incidence where more than 300,000 people within the capital city of Kampala were affected directly by the cholera pandemic (Disaster Relief Emergency Fund, 2008). However, this is treatment and not a preventive measure. Even so, this cheapest option
Causes: Cholera is caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. The bacteria releases a toxin that causes increased release of water from cells in the intestines, which produces severe
Outbreaks of cholera were not isolated to the European and Asian continents, as several major cases within the United States have been recorded back to colonial times. As trade increased with the old world, infected sailors bringing the disease to major port cities, spreading it even further as products became distributed across the nation. Famously documented as one of the most vital turning points for public health medicine within the US, the city of Chicago mirrored what was unfolding in the 1854 London outbreak. Congruent to Snow’s findings, entire families suddenly became severely ill and dying off. As an effort to combat the pestilence, Ellis Chesbrough, an already established railroad engineer, designed a series of sewer systems modeled
Between the 1830’s to 1860’s, cholera spread into the United States from India by trade routes. Cholera is an acute diarrhoeal infection caused by drinking or eating material that is infected with Vibrio cholerae. Cholera causes watery diarrhoea, but can show days later or never show
Fecal-related communicable diseases include cholera, typhoid, dysentery (including Shigellosis), diarrhoea, hookworm, schistosomiasis, filariasis and especially epidemics such as cholera (Ziraba, Haregu, & Mberu, 2016). These fecal matters at fresh state as well as state of decomposition are releasing a
Having Diarrhea for a prolonged amount of time causes dehydration and leads to a loss of electrolytes in the body. This loss causes an imbalance in electrolytes and body and can be fatal. According to Biology, people acquire Cholera by drinking contaminated water which contains human feces and is generally in poorer areas of the world. The bacterium begins by forming a film around the intestines and also produces a toxin. This toxin is an enzyme that modifies the receptors of the cells which constitute the intestines, which happen to regulate salt and water secretion. The toxin which modifies the G-proteins in a cell makes it unable to utilize GTP which keeps the cell in its active form (Campbell,
12 Joaquín Sánchez; Jan Holmgren (February 2011). "Cholera toxin – A foe & a friend" (PDF). Indian Journal of Medical Research. 133. p. 158.
Two out of every five people living in Sub-Saharan Africa lack safe water. A baby there is 500 times more likely to die from water-related illness than one from the United States. This is a serious ongoing issue that requires the rest of the world to take action. Water spreads diseases easily if the necessary precautions are not taken. Many developing African countries don’t have sewage treatment, or the people don’t have methods to filter and disinfect. Once a person is sick either there is no way to cure them, or medical care is too expensive, so they are left untreated with a high risk of death. Although many believe that the fight for sanitary water in Africa is insurmountable, people in these developing countries can overcome their challenge to access clean water and avoid water-borne diseases through proper sewage treatment facilities, universal water filtration and medical care.
Haiti, home to over ten million of people and many more all over the world, is one of the poorest nation in the Americas. In 2010 and 2011, Haiti was heavily affected by a large cholera outbreak that spread throughout the country (Page et al., 2015). Its low economy and its substantially high occurrences of adverse events and insecurity have made the country the recipient of many humanitarian aids and peace keeping missions for almost as long as the country have been independent (Page et al., 2015). It is not to forget that the cholera outbreak that started in the latter of the 2010 year and lingers until today is a complete mirror effect of Haiti’s substandard infrastructure, lack of sanitation and poor water quality have not only make this
The migration of a population displaced by a natural disaster such as the occurrence of the magnitude 7.0 earthquake that hit the people of Haiti did introduce mortality rates due to unhealthy and unsanitary conditions the refugees lived under in camps. The overcrowded living conditions facilitated a quadrupled spread and transmission of infectious disease such as cholera bacteria inflicting diarrhea. These infections are easily spread through contaminated water. Emotional stress which has a great impact on the physical as well as the mental health of the population quickly degraded the body immune system. Inadequate quantities and qualities of water to sustain health and personal hygiene, poor environmental sanitation and insufficient shelter are all factors that made cholera more potent. An infectious disease like cholera thrives best in a malnutrition host with no access to health care. However, it would be appropriate to educate the people about the bacteria involved hence the need to highlight on the origin (primary) of the bacteria causing cholera. The secondary transmission route would also be enumerated and the impact they both have on the people. The ways in which the spread of the infection could be reduced would further be elaborated.
The disease, cholera, is an infection of the intestines, caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. As stated in Microbes and Infections of the Gut, the bacterium is “a Gram-negative, comma- shaped, highly motile organism with a single terminal flagellum” (105). Cholera is characterized by the most significant symptom that presents with the disease, diarrhea, and victims can lose up to twenty liters of body fluids in a day. Cholera can be a serious disease, due to the serious dehydration that can occur, but it is only fatal if treatment is not administered as soon as possible. This research paper includes information on the causes of cholera, symptoms, ways of treatment, studies of treatments, complications that may occur, the