Researchers estimate that each year there are 1.3 to 4.0 million cases of cholera, and 21 000 to 143 000 deaths worldwide due to the disease.
According to the World Health Organization, cholera is an acute diarrhoeal sickness brought on by consuming food or water tainted with the vibrio cholera bacteria. Cholera remains a global threat to public health and an indicator of inequity and lack of social development.
According to the National Institute for Communicable Diseases, there have been six cholera cases in Gauteng province to date, ranging in age from 19 to 44, including one death. The number is expected to rise.
Cholera is a fatal bacterial disease which typically spreads via tainted food or water and results in dehydration, severe diarrhoea, vomiting and exhaustion. It can be lethal if left untreated, even though doctors can cure it successfully.
According to Dr Ayanda Mbuli the health policy and clinical advisory general manager at AfroCentric Group: “It is important to note that cholera is a highly infectious disease that can spread quickly in areas where sanitation and hygiene standards are poor but can be preventable through implementing measures that prioritise clean water and sanitation.”
Mbuli says controlling and eliminating cholera and lowering fatality rates requires a complex strategy.
This can be done by using good hygiene, having access to clean water and sanitation, mobilising the community, receiving treatment, and receiving oral cholera vaccines.
What are the causes of cholera?
Cholera, diarrhoea, dysentery, hepatitis A, typhoid, and polio are just a few of the illnesses that can spread due to contaminated water and poor sanitation.
People are exposed to avoidable health hazards when water and sanitation facilities are unavailable, poor, or improperly managed.
Treatment
Patients who are very dehydrated have to receive intravenous fluids quickly because they run the danger of going into shock.
Also, antibiotics are given to these individuals in order to shorten the duration of the diarrhoea and lower the amount of rehydration fluids required.
Most patients can be successfully treated with the immediate introduction of an oral rehydration solution.
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