Gyn Chronicles
Gyn Chronicles
THE CHOLERA MENACE
Dr . Maureen Owiti
I
have been mulling over what I should write about for this article and finally decided to think outside the box . This time we ’ ll tackle cholera because of the current public health outcry . I just felt it was the most important thing to do and in all diseases there is the aspect of it ’ s effects on pregnancy so somehow we ’ ll get that perspective .
As you may all be aware the first incident was the infamous Karen wedding that had a death toll of three . I feel very sorry for the bride and groom and even my fellow doctors were not left out if we can recall the incident at Weston Hotel where a lot of my colleagues were admitted with signs and symptoms that suggested cholera and stool samples revealed the same .
In the Karen incident the common denominator was the fish and I ’ m highlighting this as this is a common cause for the spread of the disease .
So what is cholera ? Cholera is a bacterial infection caused by an organism known as “ vibrio cholerae .”
We had an interesting laugh when it was alluded that certain people were searching for the virus that causes cholera ! Conclusion : the underlying agent is a bacteria .
The infection is usually acquired by the fecal oral route . This means that the disease is acquired when a person eats or drinks contaminated food or water . The most common source of infection include : Water ; Ice made
‘‘ So what is cholera ? Cholera is a bacterial infection caused by an organism known as “ vibrio cholerae .” We had an interesting laugh when it was alluded that certain people were searching for the virus that causes cholera ! Conclusion : the underlying agent is a bacteria .’’ from contaminated water ; Food and drinks sold by street vendors ; Raw or undercooked fish and seafood caught in waters contaminated with sewage ; and Fruits and vegetables grown with water containing human waste .
There is a big fad on Sushi and we sometimes see beautiful sukuma wiki or spinach and other produce and we don ’ t investigate the source . We can see what the net result can be ! I was not at the Karen wedding so this is pure speculation : could there have been such delicacies as oysters which are normally eaten raw ?
When a person consumes the contaminated food or water , the bacteria release a toxin in the intestines that produces severe diarrhea . It is not likely you will catch cholera just from casual contact with an infected person .
What are the symptoms of cholera ?
Symptoms usually occur within a few hours to 5 days from eating contaminated food or drinking contaminated water .
Fortunately most people infected with
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