Ayva Rodriguez
Felician College
The Outbreak of Cholera in Haiti
It’s been almost 5 years since the cholera epidemic in Haiti affected thousands of people that even until now the pathogenic organism are still around claiming the lives of Haitian individual ("Combat Cholera," 2014). Cholera may have been around during the time of the Greek physician “…Hippocrates (460-377 BCE) and the Indian peninsula” as their record indicates the similarity of the disease that occurred in their existence (Handa et al., 2014). The English physician named John Snow in 19th century demonstrated that providing the community with uncontaminated water will significantly decrease the transmission of cholera (Handa et …show more content…
And “the genus name refers to the fact that the organism appears to vibrate when moving” (Handa et al., 2014). There were 7 cholera pandemics occurred since 1817 that was originated from the cholera’s endemic reservoir in the Indian subcontinent (Handa et al., 2014). The first 6 pandemics occurred in 1817-1923 and that 5 affected Europe and 4 reached the United States that caused “…more than 150,000 deaths in 1832 and 50,000 deaths in 1866” (Handa et al., 2014). Moreover, the 7th pandemic began in 1961 which was the first that happened in the 20th century and by 1991 the disease affected 5 continents that continue until now (Handa et al., 2014). In addition, the pandemic was originated from the Celebes Islands, Indonesia that affected more countries and continents compared to the previous 6 pandemics (Handa et al., 2014). Also the “…7th pandemic was the first recognized to be caused by the El Tor biotype of V cholerae O1” (Handa et al., 2014). A new strain V cholerae serogroup O139 which is …show more content…
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