Cholera: from uncontrolled pandemics to a controlled but the longest pandemic
- Journal of Bacteriology & Mycology: Open Access
-
J Cyril Kanmony
PDF Full Text
Abstract
In 144 years, cholera was declared a pandemic seven times, the first declaration in 1817
and the seventh in 1961. However the term pandemic became familiar only after corona
was declared a pandemic in 2020. It is China for zoonotic pandemics and India for cholera
pandemics. Out of the recent four zoonotic pandemics three started in China and out of
seven cholera pandemics six originated in India, particularly the Ganges Delta Regions
of West Bengal and so India is considered as the ‘ground-zero of cholera’. Cholera killed
millions of people and ravaged the whole world. During the first pandemic, the death toll
was estimated at 0.1 million in Korea and another 0.1 million in Java, 0.21 million in
Vietnam and 1-2 million in the British India. The list goes on. This is the condition with all
other pandemics. Vibrio cholera, an agent that thrives in polluted water, is the main cause
for the spread of cholera. Lack of sanitation, particularly open defecation is the reason for
its quick spread. The main symptom of cholera is severe diarrhoea, with expulsion of a
large quantity of fluid and watery stool, apart from vomiting and sweating. However, it is
an easily curable disease; the fluid outpoured should be immediately replaced by the same
quantity of dehydration fluid, a chemical solution. Medical attention is required only if it
goes beyond this stage. It is beyond doubt that if every household is provided with 100%
safe drinking water and proper sanitation facility, cholera outbreaks can easily be stopped
and people of every country can be free from the severity of the most feared disease of
the 19th and 20th centuries. It is also necessary to maintain adequate supply of anti-cholera
vaccines in every country
Keywords
pandemics, diarrhoeal disease, notorious disease, bilious cholera, pestilential cholera, malignant cholera, Asiatic cholera, water-borne diseases, spasmodic cholera
