Cholera disease is inherently water-borne. It is a dangerous disease which weakens bowels and leads to extreme dehydration. Many developing countries have, in recent years, grappled with several incidents of cholera outbreaks in various parts of their regions. The disease has caused tremendous and disastrous effects including death and increased levels of poverty as a result of the direction of massive resources in terms of manpower and finances towards its management. Endless disease control measures have been put in place in these countries to reduce cases of disease outbreak. Vulnerable groups such as children and women are the most affected in the event of a cholera outbreak. Cholera is mostly transmitted due to a mix of internal and external environmental factors such as inadequacy of basic infrastructure to uphold high sanitation levels. Water supply has had major contribution to development of cholera in the third world countries, as will be discussed in this paper.
Cholera is a disease that can kill within few hours of infection. Its a disease caused by bacterial infection. The strain of bacteria thats responsible for its transmission is in medical circles referred to as vibrio cholerae . The disease is transmitted through the intake of food or water that has been contaminated with the bacteria. It is caused by various factors. Poor sanitation continues to be the single largest cause for cholera outbreaks in third world countries. The disease leads to severe body dehydration, causing death if not medically contained. Cases with cholera outbreak are more expressed in areas with poor connection to clean water and sewerage systems.
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Cholera symptoms are identifiable within few hours of infection. The symptoms range from moderate to severe with respect to loss of water. Many affected individuals develop dehydration due to loss of water through diarrhea and vomiting. Patients might show other symptoms such as nausea, acute stomachaches and muscle cramps. Feverish symptoms usually are present in a few patients, especially children. Patients dealing with the disease in its earliest stages experience nauseating feelings. The most severe cases of disease are occasioned by diarrhea, which leads to a general loss of body weight. Severe dehydration might cause the afflicted patient shock, resulting in low blood levels in the body, therefore reducing blood pressure. Low oxygen levels in the patients body also increase incidents of shock (Melbourne, 2011). Loss of minerals such as potassium in the patients body due to diarrhea has been reported to be the cause of muscle cramps. Other symptoms seen in most patients include wrinkled skin, irritability, sunken eyes and thirst.
Cholera is diagnosed through running medical tests for its various symptoms .Blood tests to trace presence of the causal bacteria is a step for successful diagnosis. The patients stool could also be tested for traces of the bacteria. Cholera disease is easily treatable. Many patients have received successful treatment from treatment available in established medical centers. In the late stages of the disease where the patients have severely lost water through diarrhea and vomiting, rehydrating agents such as fluids should be administered. In the earlier stages of the disease, medication in form of antibiotics should be prescribed so as to reduce the spread of the causal bacteria in the body. Medical facilities that offer cholera services should be established in most of the affected regions to reduce the severity of the disease (Batt & Tortorello 2014).
Water supply in various developing countries has greatly contributed to the development of cholera. In most rural parts in the developing countries, water supply through pipes and pumping of clean treated water is perceived a luxurious reserve for wealthier individuals. Poorer civilians have only the option of river and borehole water for domestic use. This water is rarely clean and may contain traces of the cholera bacteria. This has increased incidents of the disease outbreak in these countries. Although some might access piped water, the water is directly pumped from water bodies such as lakes and rivers without having been put through any proper water treatment procedures. This has also been a major factor for high of the incidences of cholera disease outbreak (Mphande, 2016).
Due to frequent incidents of outbreak of cholera disease in the third world countries, there have been major efforts to reduce the disease. The public health sector has established water treatment plants to treat water before it is supplied to various homes for use and also extended their supply services to interior places. This will, in the long run help reduce the severity of the outbreak since many indivuals will get access to clean water. Many medical facilities and cholera treatment centers have been established in these countries to deal with any incidents. The public health sector has put effort towards attaining good sanitation for most of the affected regions. Clean public toilets have been built to reduce the use of open fields as toilets, which mostly leads to widespread dispersal of the bacterial agent responsible for cholera infections, contained in feaces. Improving the drainage system in areas of residents has caused a great effect in reducing the cholera disease development in these third world countries. A good drainage eliminates medium for buildup of the bacteria.
Cholera in the third world countries is a major challenge to the global social and economic development. Many resources are channeled to the treatment of the disease instead of being focused on developmental projects within the affected countries. Cholera is easily treatable but can kill within a short time. The incidences are easily preventable since it only takes practice of good sanitation and high levels of hygiene.
References
In Batt, C. A., & In Tortorello, M. L. (2014). Encyclopedia of food microbiology .
Melbourne, E. L. (2011). Cholera: Symptoms, diagnosis and treatment . New York: Nova Science Publishers.
Mphande, F. A. (2016 ). Infectious diseases and rural livelihood in developing countries.
