Posts Tagged ‘What is cholera?’
What is Cholera?
Cholera is an acute intestinal infection, severe, characterized by the appearance of abundant diarrheal stools, with vomiting and dehydration that can lead the patient to acidosis and circulatory collapse within 24 hours and untreated cases can lead to death. Common are cases in which only mild diarrhea is present and it is this characteristic in children.
Cholera is caused by an infectious agent, it is an aerobic bacillus, Gram negative, with a single polar flagellum which gives it great mobility called Vibrio cholerae. The Vibrio cholerae survive for periods up to 7 days outside the body, especially in humid and temperate water survives in a few hours to a few weeks if it is contaminated with organic material.
Vibrio cholerae includes two kinds of forms: The classic and variant TOR, the two biotypes are separated into two main serotypes: The Ogawa and Inaba serotype rarely the third Hikojima may be present. These serotypes may change during epidemics. All serotypes produce enterotoxins similar and the clinical picture is very similar.