Q. Can you explain Cholera?

Cholera is one of the diseases which had caused epidemics all over the world. The organism which causes the disease is Vibrio cholerae. It is an aerobic, facultatively anaerobic, straight or slightly curved, short, gram-negative, oxidose-positive rod with a single flagellum.

The K cholerae produces a heat-sensitive enterotoxin while growing in the human intestine. It causes the characteristic cholera symptoms including 'rice water stool'. The toxin is heat labile. The incubation period of cholera ranges from a few hours to 5 days but usually between 2-3 days. The symptoms include abrupt onset of vomiting and watery diarrhoea. Diarrhoea has a rice water appearance, where the stools look like water with flecks of rice in it hence the name 'rice water stool'. Dehydration may be followed, causing death in some cases, if prompt electrolyte supplementation is not provided. Antibiotic treatment helps in reducing the duration of the disease by killing the organisms before they become bound to mucosa.