Cholera vibrio. Than cholera is dangerous

Cholera vibrio is a bacterium that causes a severe intestinal infection in a person. Characteristic for cholera is the defeat of the small intestine, with the development of the clinic of acute intoxication, watery diarrhea, abundant vomiting and very rapid loss of fluid by the body. Cholera pathogens can live in the environment long enough, but for their development and reproduction, a man (a vibrio-carrier) is required. Such people may not have the slightest symptoms of the disease, continuously releasing more and more cholera pathogens into the environment.

The cholera vibrio is transmitted from the person by a fecal-oral route. That is, feces contaminated with bacteria enter the environment (into soil, water), from where they are transported by insects, usually flies, to food and everyday household items.

The peculiarity of cholera is that it usually spreads only in the form of an epidemic. The main endemic centers are considered to be Africa, Latin America, South-East Asia. Cholera is listed as a quarantine infection.

To date, more than one hundred and forty groups of Vibrio cholerae are known. The causative agents of cholera are representatives of serogroup O1 - Vibrio cholerae O1. By its characteristics, the cholera vibrio is a short curved rod, with a flagella. These are gram-negative aerobic bacteria growing on alkaline nutrient media at an ambient temperature of 10-40 degrees Celsius. One of the pathogens of cholera - the cholera vibrio El-Tor is able to hemolize lamb erythrocytes.

The onset of cholera

Absolutely all the ways in which cholera is transmitted refer to the fecal-oral mechanism of infection transmission. A sick person or a vibrio carrier releases into the environment pathogens of cholera. From there, the vibrio often enters the water, through which other people also become infected with cholera. In addition, it is likely to eat foods that are infected during cooking, handing, washing or storage.

A special role in the distribution of cholera is played by poor sanitary and hygienic conditions, high population density, a large flow of migrants from endemic areas. After the transferred disease in 4-5% of cases, people become chronic carriers of the vibrio, which is in the gallbladder. Especially typical is the carriage for the elderly. In other cases, the transferred disease develops a permanent immunity to the serotype that the person is infected with.

The incubation period

The duration of incubation of the cholera vibrio varies from a couple of hours to several days (up to five), but, basically, is about 24-48 hours. The severity of the disease is individual for each person. Symptoms of the disease can be either erased or pronounced (in such cases, death occurs on the first-second day due to severe dehydration of the body).

Symptoms

Cholera is characterized by a number of characteristic symptoms, among which: acute onset of the disease, copious watery diarrhea for several days, the stool has a mushy or liquid consistency of light gray color, odorless. Vomiting: For the first time recently eaten food, later it becomes liquid, resembling a rice decoction. The temperature does not rise, in severe cases there is a decrease to 35-35.5 degrees Celsius. The patient has all the signs of dehydration. The volume of excreted urine drops sharply, followed by a complete absence of urination.

Treatment

Treatment of cholera is carried out by maintaining the volume of circulating blood and restoring the electrolyte tissue composition. For these purposes, invasive therapy with intravenous administration of saline and subsequent adjustment of water-electrolyte metabolism is used.