Cholera is ... Cholera: causes, symptoms, diagnosis and treatment

The twenty-first century is the time of new technologies and discoveries, including in the field of medicine. If earlier epidemics of diseases that have been wiped out by entire families and areas, have instilled fear and horror on people, then today, medical scientists have found ways to combat many previously incurable diseases. For example, the cholera epidemic in Russia in the nineteenth century took more than two million lives. However, today the death rate from this disease is only 5-10%.

The biggest epidemics in the history of mankind

An epidemic is the mass spread of a disease or infection. In the history of mankind, you can count a couple of dozen of the most terrible and dangerous epidemics.

1. The epidemic of smallpox. In 1500, reduced the number of residents of the American continent from 100 million to 10! Symptoms of the disease - fever, body aches and joints, a rash resembling abscesses. The method of transmission of infection - airborne, contact-household. Mortality rate is 30%.
2. Flu epidemic. The biggest was in 1918. The disease killed about a hundred million people. Influenza is one of the most terrible pandemics to date.
3. Plague, or "Black Death." In 1348, this disease claimed the lives of half of Europeans, and also hit China and India. Carry the plague of rats, to be more precise, fleas of rats. Sometimes the disease breaks out in our time, in areas inhabited by small rodents. Symptoms of the ailment are fever, coughing, hemoptysis, heavy breathing. Modern methods of medicine allow today to effectively combat the plague.
4. The epidemic of malaria. A widespread phenomenon for the inhabitants of African countries. The carrier is a malarial mosquito. The mortality rate of the disease remains quite high for today.
5. Tuberculosis. Sometimes they call it the "white plague". The main reason for the spread is unfavorable living and working conditions, poverty. In the early stages, the disease is curable.
6. Cholera. This is a complete dehydration of the body, which often leads to death. Six pandemic cholera killed millions of people on different continents. Symptoms of the disease - vomiting, diarrhea, convulsions. The infection spreads mainly through food and water.
7. AIDS. The most terrible of epidemics. The disease is incurable. The only salvation is maintenance therapy throughout life. There are drug addicts at risk.
8. Yellow fever. The mode of transmission is similar to malaria. Symptoms - chills, headaches, vomiting, pain in the muscles. The disease mainly affects the kidneys and liver. As a result, the skin of a person acquires a yellowish hue.
9. The epidemic of typhus. Symptoms - fever, lack of appetite, malaise and weakness, headache, fever, chills, nausea. Infection can cause the development of gangrene, inflammation of the lungs. The epidemic of typhus in many ways affected the course of the First and Second World Wars.
10. Ebola fever. A deadly virus. A lethal outcome occurs in 90% of cases. The virus is transmitted through the blood, sputum of the patient and through sperm. Symptoms - severe headache, fever, nausea, pain in the chest, rash, diarrhea, dehydration, bleeding from all organs.

The main cause of the global spread of infections is the lack of sanitary norms, non-observance of personal hygiene, development of new territories.

The Cholera Epidemic

Cholera is an intestinal infection, which is accompanied by a sharp loss of fluid, dehydration of the body. Caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholera. Method of transmission of the disease - household - through water, contaminated food. There are several strains of cholera, each of which is serious in its own way. For example, Nepalese cholera, which does not cause any particular harm to local residents, has become a deadly virus for the population of the Dominican Republic and Haiti.

The largest pockets of the epidemic are recorded in Africa, Latin America, India. And although modern methods of treatment can cope with this ailment, the mortality rate is still 5-10%. In Russia, the epidemic of cholera in 1830 was the first large-scale manifestation of this type of infection. In combination with plague, it has taken the lives of millions of people.

Protect yourself and your loved ones from cholera by observing the rules of personal hygiene. Especially attentive to one's health should be those people who often travel around the country and beyond. Always need to avoid dubious eateries and cafeterias. And food is not bought in natural markets, but in specialized places. When visiting foreign countries, it is better to vaccinate.

Three forms of cholera

Cholera is an infectious disease that affects the intestines and kidneys. The disease can occur in the human body in three forms, depending on the degree of dehydration.

1. Light. The main symptoms are diarrhea, sometimes slight vomiting, unpleasant sensations in the abdomen. Desires in the toilet can reach up to five times a day. The general well-being of the patient is satisfactory.
2. The average shape. Symptoms are diarrhea (up to ten times a day) and vomiting, which go on increasing. The patient is constantly tormented by thirst and dry mouth. There may be minor spasms of muscles, feet, fingers.
3. Heavy form. Cholera disease at this stage often has a lethal outcome. Symptoms - profuse defecation, up to twenty times a day, repeated vomiting, thirst, dry mouth, hoarse voice. The body is dehydrated, a person acquires a characteristic appearance - a pointed face, wrinkled hands, sunken eyes. Lips, ears, skin become cyanotic. This is how cyanosis develops. Urination is less frequent, and soon ceases altogether.

The cholera is hardest for children. All because their body has not yet learned to cope with the unusual loss of fluid.

The best prevention of cholera is personal hygiene. At the slightest symptoms that indicate this ailment, you should immediately contact the hospital for qualified help.

How to recognize cholera?

Often, this ailment is confused with other similar diseases, for example, with food poisoning, which has a similar symptomatology. A poisoning, as a rule, most people treat themselves. As a result, treatment is not done by those drugs, and the disease itself can become more severe during this time.

Therefore, everyone should know what cholera is, what its symptoms are and how to fight it. So, the main signs of the disease:

1. Diarrhea from five to ten or more times a day. The number of feces gradually increases and can reach up to one and a half liters at a time!
2. Painful sensations, as in poisoning, are absent.
3. Vomiting has an increasing character. Nausea is not observed. Torn liquid resembles rice flakes.
4. Rapid dehydration of the body. The skin becomes bluish. A man is tormented by constant thirst, dry mouth. How does cholera look (photos of patients), you can see in scientific brochures and encyclopedias (and a little - in this article).
5. Muscle cramps.

First aid for cholera

If one of the relatives has all the symptoms of cholera, you should immediately consult a doctor. The patient is immediately hospitalized. However, there are situations when it is not possible to get medical help so quickly (staying outside of populated areas). In this case, everyone should know how to provide first aid.

The main rule is more fluid. How much the body loses, how much should you try to "pour in". Drink recommended every half hour for 200 ml. But this should be not just water, but a special solution (per liter of water - a teaspoon of salt and four teaspoons of sugar).

Particular attention should be given to feces, their disinfection. Ducks, personal hygiene products should be carefully treated to avoid the spread of infection. Bedding needs to be changed frequently. Wash clothes at a temperature of 90 degrees. After washing, it is desirable to iron them.

Such precautions are mandatory, because getting infected in everyday life will not be difficult.

Etiology and epidemiology of cholera

One of the terrible and incurable diseases of past centuries is cholera. Photos of bacteria made under a microscope make it clear that the pathogen looks like a curved rod with one or two bundles located polarly, which help it move.

The microbes that cause cholera are lovers of the alkaline environment. They are able to decompose starch and carbohydrates, as well as dilute gelatin. The causative agent of the infection is sensitive to drying and exposure to ultraviolet rays. When boiling, microorganisms die instantly.

Since cholera is caused by a bacterium that can be contained in food and water, the best prevention is the proper processing of food.

If the infection enters the sources of drinking water, it can hit entire communities. It's an epidemic. And when the disease is already outside the boundaries of one territory or the whole country, then a pandemic already has a place. Cholera is both a disease, an epidemic, and a pandemic.

Diagnosis and treatment

Of course, the diagnosis of "cholera" can not be put on its own. Some symptoms of the disease are not enough. We need medical examinations, which are carried out in special bacteriological laboratories. For the study, patient isolation is necessary - vomit, cal.

If you go deeper into history, the epidemic of cholera in 1830 in Russia took more than one life. Everything can be explained by the insufficiently strong medicine of that time. Today, the disease is treatable. To do this, it is sufficient to make timely diagnosis and therapy.

It must be remembered that cholera is an epidemic. It can hit several family members at once. Any suspicious symptoms should be the reason for going to the hospital. The incubation period of cholera is from several hours to five days. At this time, patients are already carriers of infection and excrete the pathogen into the external environment.

Treatment of ailment is carried out only in hospitals, in special infectious departments. The main task of doctors is to replenish and maintain the water balance in the patient's body. To do this, use salt solutions and medicines.

The most common bacteria-causative agents of cholera are the classical biotype and cholera El Tor. Both types are sensitive to antibiotics. Therefore, treatment also includes the use of antibacterial drugs. Usually use erythromycin.

The best protection against cholera in our time is vaccination. The vaccine is administered twice a month. Doses depend on the age of the patient.

Prevention of cholera

Cholera, like any disease, is better to prevent than treat. To do this, it is enough to follow the rules of personal hygiene, as well as all the precautions that are used to prevent acute intestinal infections.

So:

1. Bacteria-causative agents of cholera can be contained in food, water. Therefore, you should never drink water from dubious sources. In extreme cases, it should be boiled.
2. Vegetables, fruits, fish, meat and other raw foods must be carefully processed before consumption.
3. You can not swim in the reservoirs where there are bans to the sanitary and epidemiological station. Perhaps the water contains a stick of cholera or some other kind of disease.
4. Patients with signs of cholera should be immediately hospitalized, and in the room where they were located, - to disinfect.
5. When visiting other countries, it is better to do the vaccination. Of course, vaccination can not give 100% protection, but in case of an epidemic, the vaccinated organism will be easier to cope with the disease.

It must also be remembered that even after complete recovery, cholera bacteria can infect the body a second time. Therefore, extra vigilance and caution will not prevent!

How does the disease manifest in children?

Disease in children develops exactly as in adults. However, children are more likely to tolerate the infection.

Most often, infection occurs through water or food. But in the case of children, infection through close contact through dirty hands is not excluded.

Bacteria of cholera, getting into the body of the child, cause severe intoxication and diarrhea. The development of the disease leads to disruption of the kidneys (nephropathy), cardiac arrhythmia, pulmonary edema. Some children develop convulsions, coma. Therefore, early diagnosis of the disease is simply necessary. In such cases, the disease of cholera is curable in almost a hundred percent of cases.

Treatment of sick children, as well as adults, is carried out only permanently. Therapy is aimed at replenishing the lost fluid. Patients with severe form of fluid injected intravenously.

Care for the patient also includes a thorough disinfection of household items and stool.

Do not forget about a full and healthy diet. After all during illness the person loses a lot of liquid, and at the same time weight.

The best prevention of cholera in children is to teach to always and everywhere wash hands, food and drink only boiled water. This is especially important when a child visits a kindergarten or school.

Conclusion

The development of medicine and science in our time has given a solution for the treatment of many dangerous diseases. For example, plague, smallpox, typhus became conditional diseases, as the vaccine completely eradicated them from our lives. Cholera disease, in contrast to them, is still relevant in some parts of the Earth. However, effective methods of treatment of this ailment have been found. It is enough to ask for help in time.

The largest outbreaks of the epidemic are recorded in remote areas of Africa, Asia, and India. The main cause is contaminated water, lack of sanitation, poverty and poverty. For many residents of those countries the concept of "hospital" is unfamiliar. In such cases, the diagnosis of cholera and the first emergency care can be done independently (though not always successfully).