Vibrio Cholera

1
Vibrio Cholera
Michelle Ross, Kristin Roman, Risa Siegel
2
Cholera Introduction

• Transmitted to humans via contaminated food and
  water
• 1 of 3 diseases requiring WHO notification
• Part of normal flora of brackish water and
  estuaries

3
Cholera A Historical Perspective

• 500-400 BC
• Sanskrit writings describe a dehydrating
  diarrhea-like death
• first observed on the Indian subcontinent
• Sushruta Samhita (an ancient text) mentions
  visuchika, an intestinal disease which closely
  resembles cholera

4
Cholera A Historical Perspective

• 500 BC
• Hippocrates and Areatus of Capdadocia mention
  cholera-like disease in their medical writings
• 900 AD
• Rhazes, Islamic physician, describes cholera-like
  illness referring to it as heyda (Arabic)

5
Cholera A Historical Perspective

• 1563
• first recorded cholera epidemic
• 1643
• used term trousse-galant and flux de ventre
  to describe severe diarrheal illness
• 1649
• sporadic but very severe form of cholera

6
Cholera A Historical Perspective

• 1658
• Brazil cholera-like illness
• 1665
• Ghent - cholera-like illness
• 1781
• division of Bengal troops infected heading to
  Calcutta
• 1787-1796
• Outbreak in Vellore and Arcot (1787-1789) -gt
  Ganjam (1790) -gt Malabar and Coromandel (1796)

7
Historical Perspective First Pandemic

• 1817-1820
• First Major Cholera Pandemic
• spread out of India to Europe and the Americas
• spread from India -gt Middle East (reaching Turkey
  and Persia) -gt Far East (Singapore, Japan, and
  Philippines)

8
Historical Perspective Second Pandemic

• 1829-1851
• entered US through NY and New Orleans -gt
  proceeded through entire country
• Moscow chemist administer IV fluids to cholera
  patients
• Research supported by Lancet not commonly
  accepted until end of 19th century

9
Historical Perspective Third Pandemic

• 1852-1859
• 1853 rampant throughout Middle East, Northern
  Europe, and North and Central America

10
Historical Perspective Identification

• 1854
• Filippo Pacini identified curved or comma shaped
  bacterium which he called Vibrio cholerae

• examined intestinal mucosa of patients following
  cholera death during Asiatic cholera pandemic of
  1846-1863

11
Historical Perspective Snow

• 1854
• John Snow hypothesized water as primary
  reservoir for transmission
• Broad Street pump incident
• 56 deaths in 2 days