Vibrio cholerae
Quick Summary
Vibrio cholerae is a gram-negative, rod-shaped bacterium that causes cholera, an intestinal disease spread through contaminated water and food via the fecal-oral route. Only specific serogroups, O1 and O139, are pathogenic and produce cholera toxin, an enterotoxin that leads to severe watery diarrhea and rapid dehydration. The El Tor biotype of V. cholerae is responsible for the current pandemic and is significant because it can survive longer in aquatic environments and often causes mild or asymptomatic infections, facilitating its spread.12
Symptoms include profuse watery diarrhea, vomiting, rapid dehydration, thirst, muscle cramps, weakness, low blood pressure, and a rapid heart rate. Without prompt treatment, severe dehydration can lead to shock, kidney failure, and death. Treatment involves replacing lost fluids and salts through oral rehydration salts (ORS) or intravenous therapy. Antibiotics can shorten the duration of illness. Prevention relies on access to clean water, proper sanitation, good hygiene, and safe food handling.234
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cholera…intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and characterized by extreme diarrhea with rapid and severe depletion of body fluids and salts. Cholera has often risen to epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, particularly in India and Bangladesh. Since the 19th century, seven pandemics (global epidemics) of cholera…
Read More…intestine caused by the bacterium Vibrio cholerae and characterized by extreme diarrhea with rapid and severe depletion of body fluids and salts. Cholera has often risen to epidemic proportions in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia, particularly in India and Bangladesh. Since the 19th century, seven pandemics (global epidemics) of cholera…
Read More- choleraScientific investigation of the seventh pandemic
…traced the origin of modern V. cholerae isolates to the Bay of Bengal and a common El Tor ancestor whose existence was dated to 1827–1936. Since then, three separate, though at times overlapping, intercontinental waves of cholera have emerged from the Bay of Bengal, the first of which began in…
Read More…traced the origin of modern V. cholerae isolates to the Bay of Bengal and a common El Tor ancestor whose existence was dated to 1827–1936. Since then, three separate, though at times overlapping, intercontinental waves of cholera have emerged from the Bay of Bengal, the first of which began in…
Read More - digestive system diseaseBacterial infections
Cholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae, is endemic to Southeast Asia and periodically becomes pandemic (widely distributed in more than one country). The oral or intravenous administration of electrolyte solutions rich in potassium has revolutionized the treatment of cholera, because deaths are due to a massive depletion of electrolytes…
Read MoreCholera, caused by Vibrio cholerae, is endemic to Southeast Asia and periodically becomes pandemic (widely distributed in more than one country). The oral or intravenous administration of electrolyte solutions rich in potassium has revolutionized the treatment of cholera, because deaths are due to a massive depletion of electrolytes…
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