02-06 Cholera - John Bulloch

Cholera is a water-borne infectious disease found in nations where people live in crowded conditions without adequate sanitation facilities. Extreme weather caused by climate change means flooding and a growing threat of cholera. Fortunately, there is a vaccine available.

Cholera is a disease caused by a form of bacteria that survives in contaminated water. People living in industrialized nations are protected because of the widespread availability of sewage treatment facilities.
Nations that have experienced war or natural disasters that result in crowed conditions, poor sanitation and a lack of clean water are nations that today are vulnerable to an outbreak of cholera.
There is cholera being reported in Africa, South-East Asia and Haiti. Something like 2.9 million people are infected each year and about 95,000 die.
Cholera is an infection in the small intestine that causes diarrhea and vomiting. The resulting dehydration can be a killer.
This photo shows a woman from Malawi who lost four of her family from cholera, and built an outhouse so that people would not have to defecate in the open fields.
The pubic policy issue is climate change which is causing extreme weather. And extreme weather usually means flooding that can overwhelm communities and result in the spread of cholera.
The positive news is that there is a vaccine for cholera that is now being widely administered in vulnerable areas of the world.