This must discuss cholera as one of the deadliest diseases - Research Paper Example

Download file to see previous pages... The severe symptoms and worsening clinical course of cholera can be controlled or prevented by simple and basic methods of sanitation and personal hygiene. Moreover, new vaccinations against the pathogen are also evolving on the medical horizon, which is a sign of better cholera preventive methods. The outbreaks of cholera, are indeed a result of unsanitary conditions, however the conditions of war, the inefficiency of governments to provide adequate food supplies and poor socioeconomic conditions are major factors which lead to the development of such state of affairs. To understand the pathology and causes of cholera, it is not only imperative to focus on the symptoms, treatment and preventions, but also to highlight the socioeconomic and political factors which lead to the instigation of such dreaded outbreaks.
A major epidemic of cholera originated during the time period of 1960s and 1970s. The outbreak started from Southeast Asia and spread to the areas in Africa, Europe and the rest of Asia (Levinson, 2008). The very first pandemic started in 1817-1823 in the Ganges River region which spread to Kolkata, India. The outbreak then spread to Southeast Asia, eastern Africa and the Mediterranean. The second pandemic broke in India from 1829-1849 and was transmitted to Russia, Poland and Finland by traders and merchants. In 1831 cases were seen in England too. Irish immigrants carried it to Canada and then it entered United States through Detroit, New York and Michigan (Bjorklund, 2011). Major cases of cholera were not seen in United States, until 1991 when an epidemic broke out in Western Hemisphere, specifically in the coastal cities of Peru (Tierney, Papadakis & McPhee 2007, 2007; Levinson, 2008). During the 19th century six pandemics of cholera had taken place and ended in 1923. In 1961 the seventh pandemic originated in Indonesia, spreading to ...Download file to see next pagesRead More