Recent Cholera outbreaks and how to prevent catching it
12 Aug 2010
There has been a number of Cholera out breaks this year. Obviously the Pakistan floods have brought this to the attention of the media. There have also been outbreaks in India, Nepal, Papua New Guinea and Vietnam, Angola, Nigeria and Kenya, owing to excessive monsoons and flooding.
There is a cholera vaccine available at The Travel Clinic Ltd called Dukoral. This is taken by mouth, two doses with one week apart. We recommend this to travelers going to at-risk areas who may not be able to be able to source well cooked food and/or boiled water.
Cholera infection is caused by contaminated food or water and commonly occurs after floods or disruption to sanitation. Cholera causes a sudden onset of watery diarrhoea often accompanied by vomiting. One can pass as much as 22 liters of diarrhoea in 24 hours. Travellers should always boil water for three minutes prior to drinking or even cleaning teeth with it. Ensuring food is cooked thoroughly is another preventative measure that can reduce risk of transmission.
Most symptomatic cases are hard to distinguish from other illnesses that cause diarrhoea - it is only one in 10 that have such severe symptoms such as to be admitted to hospital, indeed it may be thought of as a nasty bout of travellers’ diarrhoea. Treatment includes rehydration salts and drinking lots of water. Severely dehydrated patients may need intravenous fluids. Antibiotics can reduce the spread of the illness.
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