An Overview of the Causes of Cholera
Causes of Cholera: Vibrio Cholerae
There are two types of
Vibrio cholerae:
- Vibrio cholerae Serogroup non-O1
- Vibrio cholerae Serogroup O1.
The type of Vibrio cholerae that are most often the causes of cholera is Vibrio cholerae Serogroup O1. Vibrio cholerae Serogroup O139, a Vibrio cholerae Serogroup non-O1 bacteria, are the other causes of cholera.
Vibrio cholerae is native to the Ganges delta, which is in India and extends into Bangladesh. Since 1995, over 80 percent of reported cases of Vibrio cholerae infections have occurred in Africa.
For the last 100 years, Vibrio cholerae infections have been very rare in industrialized nations. In the United States, there are zero to five cases per year. Most Vibrio cholerae infections in the United States have occurred in Louisiana and the Gulf of Mexico, from contaminated shellfish.
Causes of Cholera and Transmission
Cholera is usually transmitted by drinking water or eating food that is contaminated with Vibrio cholerae.
There are two ways that Vibrio cholerae usually gets into food or water:
- Naturally
- Contaminated feces.
Because casual contact with an infected person is not a risk for becoming ill, cholera is not likely to spread directly from one person to another.
Naturally
The cholera bacterium can live in the environment in brackish (saltwater) rivers and coastal waters. Shellfish, when eaten raw, have been a source of cholera. A few people in the United States have contracted cholera after eating raw or undercooked shellfish from the Gulf of Mexico.
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