Cholera
什麼是Cholera
Cholera is a disease of the gastro-intestinal tract and is caused by a bacterium known as Vibrio cholerae. There are multiple types and strains of these bacteria. Outbreaks of cholera are common in many tropical countries around the world. Serious epidemics can occur anywhere in the world where water supplies, sanitation, food safety and hygiene are inadequate. Overpopulated communities and refugee camps are particularly high risk settings due to poor sanitation and unsafe drinking water supplies.
Cholera can be a dangerous and sometimes fatal disease because it may cause severe diarrhoea and rapid dehydration resulting in hypotension (low blood pressure), shock, and death, sometimes within hours.
您如何獲得Cholera？
Cholera is spread by eating food or drinking water contaminated by the feces or vomit of infected persons. Contaminated municipal water supplies and unsafe water storage can lead to large scale outbreaks. The organism can remain alive in water for considerable periods of time. Sources of cholera infection include beverages and ice prepared with contaminated water, fruits and vegetables washed with contaminated water, as well as raw or undercooked seafood. Infected food handlers who do not practice good personal hygiene can introduce cholera into prepared foods. For safe eating and drinking, wash your hands often.
易感性和抵抗力
Generally, everyone is susceptible in the absence of any previous exposure. After acute infection and illness, some immunity does develop but not against all strains of the bacterium.
有哪些症狀？
Infection with the cholera bacteria results in a very sudden onset of profuse, painless, watery diarrhoea with nausea and vomiting. If not treated rapidly, dehydration can occur with collapse of the circulation, resulting in death, sometimes in just a few hours. There are many variations in the illness due to the different strains of cholera bacteria. The infection can range from a very mild, almost unapparent illness to a severe life-threatening disease. With proper rapid treatment, death occurs in less than 1 percent of the cases, but in untreated severe cases, death may occur in up to 50 percent of the cases.
預防措施
避免未裝瓶或未煮沸的食物和水配製不當。如果您接觸的霍亂患者俱有較高的傳播風險，例如，住在同一家庭，您應該尋求醫療建議，以獲取適當的抗生素，以防止疾病發作。目前可獲得口服霍亂疫苗，但只能在相對較短的時間內提供有限的保護。疫苗分開兩次，至少間隔一周，兩次疫苗都應在前往旅行者可能與霍亂接觸的區域之前至少一周完成一次。
治療
Treatment consists of three measures:
- Aggressive replacement of lost fluid by oral or intravenous means;
- Administration of an effective antibiotic (e.g., tetracycline or one of several other readily available antibiotics) to reduce the volume of loss of fluids and the duration of the diarrhoea; and
- Treatment of any complications that may result from the aggressive replacement of lost fluid.
驗證
疫苗接種
通常在哪裡發生？
霍亂在世界上許多熱帶國家很常見。
