A Dangerous Infection: a Hygienic and Clean Living Environment - Essay Example

Cholera School Affiliate Topic Cholera Cholera is a disease affecting the small intestine, where in it produces watery diarrhea. It is caused by a bacterium called Vibrio Cholerae ad creates dehydration in the person affected. Cholera onset is displayed by a rapid copious which is rice water resembling smelly diarrhea .The bacteria of cholera produces a toxin which causes water to be released from the intestinal cells and causes severe diarrhea. Cholera is often seen in places with less hygiene, war, crowding and famine. These places comprise of Africa, Asia, Mexico, India and South and Central America. The people acquire this disease by consuming contaminated water or food. As per (Davis,2012)“The bacteria are usually transmitted by drinking contaminated water, but the bacteria can also be ingested in contaminated food, especially seafood such as raw oysters”. History of Cholera The history of Cholera can be dated back to 1000AD when it was prevalent in India. As per (Peters,2005,pg.1)“The story of cholera begins in the waters of the Ganges river in India” .The name Cholera is derived from Greek word Khole, which means illness occurring from bile. This later transformed from Khole to colere which is French and to Choler in English around 14th century. Later Choler was the term used to describe a gastric disease which showed the symptoms of vomiting and diarrhea. England experienced many outbreaks of Cholera in 16th and 9th century and Dr. John snow discovered that this disease occurred due to contaminated water source. Dr .Snow also described to the patients how the disease spread and how to stop the transmission of the disease. Later Cholera occurred in many countries like Russia, Germany, and Zimbabwe. Symptoms of Cholera The signs or symptom of Cholera is a watery diarrhea consisting of flecks of whitish material which resemble rice piece. The diarrhea is called “Rice water stool” and smells bad. The volume of diarrhea can be often large about 10 to 18 liters for a person of normal weight of 70 kg in the time span of 24 hours. Another main symptom of Cholera is vomiting. The enormous amount of water loss can dehydrate a person and also can increase their heart rate with dry mouth. The other symptoms are loss of skin elasticity which is otherwise known as washer woman’s hand. Also low blood pressure, dry mucous membrane, thirst, muscle cramps and restless indicate as other symptoms. Causes of Cholera Cholera is caused due to a bacterium called Vibrio Cholerae. As per (Shah, 2008, pg.1) “Vibrio Cholerae, the causative agent of cholera, belongs to a group of organisms whose natural habitats are the aquatic ecosystems”. Usually, the cholera bacteria adhere to the shell fishes and travels to the intestine of human beings. The bacteria do not make the person sick but produces watery stools to help the disposal of the bacterium. It is when human stool contaminate water and food that they spread among human popultions.Generally speaking, cholera is not transmitted through direct contact with person. It is when human comes in contact with cholera bacteria contaminates sources that they travel to the intestine of a person. Treatment of Cholera Rehydration is the best treatment for Cholera as the patients lose large amount of fluid through chronic diarrhea. Medical .experts recommends ORS (Oral rehydration salts) as the main treatment for cholera. These ORS fluids are available readymade and can be consumed by patient with less effort. These fluids contain electrolytes and glucose. As per (Murphy,2009,pg.2)“ORS has been highly effective in reducing the high mortality rates experienced during cholera outbreaks, which often reached 50 per cent before the introduction of this treatment”. In case, if the dehydration is not improving, the patient may be given drips. Usually, antibiotics are prescribed only in case of chronic cholera. The medication helps in lowering fluid rehydration and assists in fast recovery of the patients. Even though antibiotics help in fighting against the cholera bacteria, in the initial stage of disease, it may take time to be effective. Prognosis of Cholera The prognosis of cholera can differ from excellent to poor according to the dehydrating nature of the patient. The prognosis also depends on how much the patient responds to the medication. In his book (Bope, 2012, pg.77) writes that “Cholera in the elderly carries a bad prognosis. The difficulty in properly evaluating the hydration status and the higher incidences of acute renal failure and pulmonary edema accounts for higher mortality among people”. In cholera, death rate can go up in case of large outbreaks and can be reduced slightly by proper treatment. Actually, the less severe the symptoms the better is the prognosis. Prevention of cholera Cholera as a dangerous epidemic must be prevented at all costs. Fortunately, there are different methods available by which cholera can be prevented. In developed countries the occurrence of cholera is nil as they perform water treatments and hygienic food preparation techniques and sanitary protocols. Moreover, there is also sophisticated toilet and hand washing facilities. In her article (Dove,2012) mentions that “The cholera bacterium spreads easily, so being careful about what you eat and drink is your best defense against it”. It is also essential to take precautionary measures by travelers when travelling to countries like India and Africa where cholera is still prevalent. Apart from this avoiding consumption of raw shell fish can prevent the disease to some extent. Conclusion Cholera is a dangerous infection and if right treatment is not given, the infected person may lose his life. Cholera is not dangerous if proper hydration is provided to the person. It is not found in western countries as their living standards are high and hygienic. Countries like Africa and India are more prone to cholera, so measures must be taken by travelers when visiting these countries. It is highly recommendable to these nation’s governments to establish a hygienic and clean living environment for their citizens. Also the scientific and medical world should study more about the disease in order to provide the world with better ways to handle this disease. References Bope, E. T. (2012). Conns Current Therapy 2012 (5thth ed., p. 77). Philadelphia: Elsevier Inc This source which is a book has been greatly helpful in describing the prognosis of cholera. Explaining prognosis has helped in enhancing the depth of the essay. Moreover the author of the book had deep knowledge about various diseases and taken much effort in elaborating about many diseases. This source is valuable because the book is written by a medical expert Bope .The book has detailed about cholera much deeply and the book was highly important for this essay. Davis, C. P. (2012, June 15). Cholera. In medicinenet. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://www.medicinenet.com/cholera/article.htm Here the source is a website, which is a medically approved one. This source is used to detail the way in which the bacteria of Cholera enters in the body of a person. Such a description is very important for the introductory part of the essay as it makes the introduction more comprehensible. Apart from this, the author of the essay , Davis is a doctor who has MD and PhD which increases the authenticity of the essay. Dove, L. L. (2012). How to Prevent Traveling Infections. In howstuffworks.com. Retrieved December 6, 2012, from http://health.howstuffworks.com/wellness/preventive-care/how-to-prevent-traveling-infections1.htm In this source there is detailing about the disease cholera which has allowed me to extract some credible points to enhance my essay. This source has assisted me in giving a point which tells the readers about one way in which to prevent the disease. This article is very well furnished with information about cholera and the author has done justice to the website. Moreover, this website how stuff works is a renowned website which adds credibility to my essay. Murphy, C. (2009). Reduced osmolarity oral rehydration solution for treating cholera (Review). JohnWiley & Sons, Ltd, 2. In this essay about Cholera, the information about treating the diseases is important. Here this source which is a book is used to explain the importance of ORS in treating cholera. This book is published by renowned publishers JohnWiley & Sons and this is an important fact. The author also has great knowledge about cholera and has explained many intricate details about the disease which makes this source valuable and important. Peters, S. T. (2005). Cholera: Curse of the Nineteenth Century (p. 1). New York: Marshall Cavendish Corporation In an essay, it is very important for the writer to include the history of the subject. Here this source which is a book about cholera has helped me greatly in enhancing the historical facts about the disease. This fact about history, which I selected from this book, is essential for my essay. Moreover, the book is filled with many details about Cholera which increases the importance of this book in relation to Cholera. The book also depicts the effort the author has taken to write the book. Shah, F. M. (2008). Vibrio Cholerae: Genomics and Molecular Biology (p. 1). Norfolk: Caister Academic Press’ This book which I selected to describe the cause of Cholera is scientifically and medically rich in relation to information imparted. This source gave me the correct referencing which could highlight the cause of cholera .The reference also describes about the breeding ground of Cholera bacteria. The author has done justice to book by including all intricate details in his book, which has helped me enormously to understand about cholera better. Read More