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bunnyjadwigaIf you've been following the news, you know that Zimbabwe is undergoing a massive outbreak of cholera (pronounced col-er-a or collar-rah), with more than 11,000 cases since August.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7760088.stm
This is an infectious gastroenteritis (severe stomach bug) caused by the bacteria Vibrio Vibrio cholerae and characterized by severe diarrhea. It's transmitted primarily by fecal contamination, primarily of drinking water. Because of its rapid progress to dehydration and shock, it can be deadly if prompt and extreme rehydration measures aren't available.
Historically, cholera is a major marker for poor sanitation in urban settings, and epidemics of cholera in the 19th century formed the basis for the Public Health movement to improve sanitation, especially in English-speaking countries. (John Snow's "On the Mode of Communication of Cholera" was one of the major documents of this movement: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/snow/snowbook.html )
What's interesting about Cholera is that it isn't well-attested before 1800, when it came out of India. Other diarrheal diseases claimed millions of lives during the pre-modern, medieval, and antique periods, but this particular disease is a nineteenth century phenomenon.
Typhoid Fever, another gastrointestinal illness with a longer progression, is usually blamed for many pre-modern outbreaks. Modern public health advisors still worry about people drinking contaminated water, for instance directly from a stream, and/or consuming milk products contaminated with Salmonella Typhi bacteria. Again, consumption of contaminated food or drink is the major route of transmission. There is a 25% death rate if untreated. Typhoid is also characterized by 'carriers' who can have the bacteria in their systems without symptoms for an indefinite amount of time (thus the ill-famed cook, Typhoid Mary).
However, typhus (aka epidemic typhus and camp fever or jail fever) is a different disease, caused by Rickettsia prowazekii bacteria. Transmission is bloodborne through the body louse. Outbreaks of typhus can be recognized in documents dating back to the Middle Ages, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/africa/7760088.stm
This is an infectious gastroenteritis (severe stomach bug) caused by the bacteria Vibrio Vibrio cholerae and characterized by severe diarrhea. It's transmitted primarily by fecal contamination, primarily of drinking water. Because of its rapid progress to dehydration and shock, it can be deadly if prompt and extreme rehydration measures aren't available.
Historically, cholera is a major marker for poor sanitation in urban settings, and epidemics of cholera in the 19th century formed the basis for the Public Health movement to improve sanitation, especially in English-speaking countries. (John Snow's "On the Mode of Communication of Cholera" was one of the major documents of this movement: http://www.ph.ucla.edu/EPI/snow/snowbook.html )
What's interesting about Cholera is that it isn't well-attested before 1800, when it came out of India. Other diarrheal diseases claimed millions of lives during the pre-modern, medieval, and antique periods, but this particular disease is a nineteenth century phenomenon.
Typhoid Fever, another gastrointestinal illness with a longer progression, is usually blamed for many pre-modern outbreaks. Modern public health advisors still worry about people drinking contaminated water, for instance directly from a stream, and/or consuming milk products contaminated with Salmonella Typhi bacteria. Again, consumption of contaminated food or drink is the major route of transmission. There is a 25% death rate if untreated. Typhoid is also characterized by 'carriers' who can have the bacteria in their systems without symptoms for an indefinite amount of time (thus the ill-famed cook, Typhoid Mary).
However, typhus (aka epidemic typhus and camp fever or jail fever) is a different disease, caused by Rickettsia prowazekii bacteria. Transmission is bloodborne through the body louse. Outbreaks of typhus can be recognized in documents dating back to the Middle Ages, according to the Encyclopedia Britannica.
