Popular Science Cartoon | How did cholera spread?

On July 9, Wuhan University reported a suspected case of cholera infection in a graduate student, which immediately attracted public attention. On July 11, the official reported that the student was diagnosed with cholera and had symptoms such as fever, vomiting, and diarrhea. It was stated that after effective diagnosis and treatment, the student's condition was stable and the symptoms had disappeared.

What is cholera? Why is it so devastating to humanity? How can we prevent it? Let’s take a closer look with Dongdong Miao in this issue~

It’s 2022, and we will still see a word that is full of “sense of the times” - cholera.

I say it has a sense of age because in my impression this word was only used in poor times with poor sanitary conditions.

But according to Dongdongmiao's in-depth observation, cholera has never left us.

Cholera, with seven pandemics, went from Bangladesh to the world

Cholera is endemic to Bengal and occasionally spreads in epidemic form to India and neighboring areas.

It had 7 major pandemics.

The first time, in 1817

It first erupted in Jessore, India, in the Ganges delta.

Vibrio cholerae contaminated rice. At that time, India was a British colony, and Britain had a developed trade in India. The bacteria also climbed onto British military ships along with the goods and traveled around the world.

Soon, cholera found its next warm new home, spreading to China, Southeast Asia, Madagascar, the East African coast, and Central Asia.

The second, which began in 1827

The outbreak started in Bangladesh and spread to the whole of India.

This time it spread to East Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East through trade and military routes.

In the autumn of 1830, cholera came to Moscow, a country at a high latitude.

It's too cold in winter, so it's inevitable that it needs to quiet down for a while.

At the beginning of the following spring, in 1831, as the weather turned warmer, cholera once again broke out.

It reached Finland and Poland, then entered Hungary and Germany, and thus left its mark all over Europe.

In 1832, Cholera, who wanted to see the world, sailed across the ocean to America.

By 1833 it had spread further, reaching Latin America and Cuba and other countries.

The third one, which began in 1839

This year, cholera broke out again in Bangladesh.

It spread to Malaysia, Singapore and southeastern China in 1840.

Since then, cholera pandemics have occurred every few years to decades.

During the first six cholera pandemics, 38 million people died in India alone, causing a huge disaster to humanity.

The last pandemic was more than 60 years ago.

In 1961, cholera spread from Sulawesi Island in Indonesia to neighboring areas, affecting more than 140 countries and regions on five continents, with as many as 3.5 million cases.

Cholera is not just a legend, there are still sporadic cases around us

If you think it is just a legend after reading this, you are totally wrong.

To some extent, cholera has not completely disappeared.

To this day, about 100,000 people still die from cholera every year around the world.

There have also been sporadic cases of cholera in China.

According to data released by the National Center for Disease Control and Prevention in April 2022, there were 5 reported cases of cholera among Class A infectious diseases nationwide in 2021, and no deaths.

Cholera, how did you cause such trouble?

The new coronavirus is scary, but it is only classified as a Class B infectious disease and enjoys Class A treatment.
How can we get a true Class A infectious disease?

Cholera is chaos by nature.

Cholera is an epidemic with rapid onset, strong infectiousness and high mortality rate, and is classified as a Class A infectious disease.

The culprit is called Vibrio cholerae (groups O1 and O139).

The pathogenicity of Vibrio cholerae is caused by two substances: endotoxin and exotoxin.

The normal stomach acid in the human body will not surrender immediately, but will fight with them.

If we win, we can kill the Vibrio.

However, once the stomach acid temporarily relaxes its vigilance, or the number of invading virus "bacteria" increases, the Vibrio that are not killed by the stomach acid will sneak into the small intestine, live and work in the alkaline intestinal fluid, multiply rapidly, and produce a large amount of strong exotoxins.

This exotoxin acts on the small intestinal mucosa, causing a large amount of intestinal fluid to be secreted and a large amount of water to be stored in the intestines, thereby causing symptoms such as diarrhea in the human body.

It is extremely harmful and can even cause severe dehydration, which can quickly be life-threatening.

How to find it? Lift your butt and come over with an anal swab

In order to detect gastrointestinal infectious pathogens such as Vibrio cholerae, anal cotton swab method is required.

A good opening of the chrysanthemum is essential.

Here is a guide to get started.

First, dip the cotton swab into saline solution, take it out and squeeze out excess saline solution, and insert the cotton swab 2-3 cm into the anus to achieve initial "entry".

Then gently rotate the cotton swab and wipe it on the skin folds around the anus.

Finally, place the cotton swab in saturated saline and stir it thoroughly to wash the pathogens into the saline.

Too "messy", want to stay away? Don't eat messy, wash it to be healthier

Cholera is not spread through the air or directly through the skin; it is mainly transmitted through the fecal-oral route.

Simply put, illness comes from the mouth.

Vibrio cholerae is afraid of heat. Heating water at 55 degrees Celsius for 15 minutes, or boiling water at 100 degrees Celsius for 1-2 minutes, can kill it.

If we don't drink raw water and drink boiled water instead, we will be half safe.

Whether it is river water, stream water or well water, no matter how sweet it is, we should not drink it if we can avoid it.

Sewage can easily flow into the river along with feces, and even a small sip may lead to infection with bacteria.

Likewise, salad lovers should be careful, as eating raw vegetables can also be risky. Feces is a good fertilizer, and it can stick to vegetables. It tastes like a sauce, but in fact, it may contain germs.

Friends who like to eat seafood should not laugh. Raw fish and shellfish may also carry bacteria or parasites, and whoever eats it may end up with it.

The eating posture is also very important.

Some foreign ways of playing are like this: wipe your butt with your left hand and eat with your right hand.

This kind of thinking is very dangerous. Dongdong Miao tells you that there is no need to learn it randomly, as it will greatly increase the probability of getting cholera.

Wash your hands before eating. Don’t forget to wash your hands after using the toilet. You may forget to wash your hands at one moment, and then eat a snack with “seasoning” and bacteria at the next second!

Of course, there are also preventive measures. In India, they can take medicine because cholera is prevalent there and oral vaccines are a common form of prevention.

Produced by: Dongdongmeow

WeChat ID: Dongdongmeow (ID: dongdongmeow)

Video account: Dongdongmiao, Weibo: @Dongdongmiao Science