【Creative Cultivation Program】Cholera is making a comeback? It is indeed dangerous, but there is no need to panic

Author: Chen Wen

Reviewer: Jie Zhijun, Chief Physician, Shanghai Fifth People's Hospital Affiliated to Fudan University

On July 9, the news that a suspected case of cholera was found in the dormitory of the School of Engineering of Wuhan University attracted everyone's attention. At present, the Wuchang District Health and Health Bureau has confirmed that the case was diagnosed as cholera and the virulence gene was negative. After effective diagnosis and treatment, the patient's condition has been controlled and the symptoms have disappeared. And the diners in the nearby snack bar all participated in the flow survey.

Cholera, a word that seems very far away from us. The last time we heard of it was probably in literary works such as "Love in the Time of Cholera", but its destructiveness cannot be underestimated.

Since 1817, there have been seven global cholera pandemics, which have killed thousands of people. my country was once hard to escape the shadow of cholera. The novel "White Deer Plain" describes a great plague. The sick people first vomited and had diarrhea, then their eye sockets sunken or even blinded, and their faces turned green. After a few days, they died. This great plague actually describes the Guanzhong cholera that occurred in 1932. There were 500,000 people infected with cholera, and about 200,000 people died, with a mortality rate of about 40%.

Currently in my country, the infectious disease management classification for cholera is even higher than that for COVID-19. Yes, you heard it right, COVID-19 is a Class B infectious disease, but it is managed in Class A, while cholera and plague are officially recognized as Class A infectious diseases.

So how did cholera arise and cause such devastation?

The "entity" of cholera, Vibrio cholerae, can remain dormant in water for a long time, so contaminated public water sources are a common cause of large-scale cholera outbreaks. Contaminated food can also lead to the spread of cholera.

Once Vibrio cholerae enters the digestive tract, it can cause serious digestive tract diseases that are life-threatening. Moreover, cholera develops rapidly and spreads quickly, so it is easy to catch you off guard. The main symptom of the disease is diarrhea, and diarrhea may occur even without stomach pain, and it may also be accompanied by vomiting symptoms.

You may say, I have diarrhea normally, why is diarrhea caused by cholera so dangerous?

Diarrhea is indeed fatal, but after entering the small intestine, Vibrio cholerae does not run around, but sticks to the surface of the intestinal wall, then rapidly reproduces locally and produces cholera toxin. This toxin acts on the mucosal epithelial cells and intestinal glands, causing your intestinal fluid to over-secrete, resulting in diarrhea.

After a short incubation period, it will give you an experience of high-intensity diarrhea.

Finally, as you have diarrhea, the Vibrio cholerae will leave your body in your feces and look for its next victim.

However, people without symptoms do not mean they are absolutely safe. People who carry Vibrio cholerae but do not have typical clinical symptoms are also likely to spread cholera. Because these people have no symptoms and are not isolated, they are more likely to spread the infection further as they move around. This is why epidemiological investigation is also needed in the prevention and control of cholera.

With the sudden outbreak of COVID-19 and the sudden attack of cholera, 2022 has not been a smooth year. Although it happened suddenly, we don't need to worry too much. Cholera is a known disease with mature prevention, control and treatment methods.

First of all, you should pay attention to personal hygiene. Before eating, after going to the toilet, and before handling food, you should clean your hands thoroughly with running water, soap and hand sanitizer.

Secondly, do not drink raw water or eat raw food. Store leftovers in the refrigerator in time. Keep raw and cooked food separate during food storage to avoid cross infection. At the same time, overnight meals must be thoroughly heated before consumption, and food that has been stored for a long time must be handled in time.

Also, don't go to unsafe roadside stalls or restaurants with poor hygiene conditions just to satisfy your taste buds. When dining out, try to avoid eating cold dishes and other foods. Of course, during the transportation of food, we must also strengthen hygiene supervision and properly handle domestic waste.

In short, although this cholera outbreak caught us off guard, there is no need to worry too much as long as we take good precautions. If you have symptoms, seek medical attention immediately.

refer to

https://baike.baidu.com/item/cholera/795009

https://baike.baidu.com/item/cholera vaccine/3230371?fr=aladdin

https://www.zhihu.com/question/542509844/answer/2568151220

https://baijiahao.baidu.com/s?id=1738026702374035045&wfr=spider&for=pc

https://www.sohu.com/a/391077182_650548

https://news.mydrivers.com/1/844/844754.htm

This article is produced by the Science Popularization China-Creation Cultivation Program. Please indicate the source when reprinting