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Cholera Epidemic

There has been a cholera epidemic in Africa, Asia, and Latin America for many years. The epidemic in Africa has lasted more than 30 years, and no one knows how long it will continue. There are many reasons for this cholera epidemic, including poverty, poor sanitation, and large populations.

 

An Overview of the Cholera Epidemic

There is an ongoing cholera pandemic (which is an epidemic that spreads worldwide or at least over a large region) in Asia, Africa, and Latin America that has lasted for the last four decades. Since 1995, over 80 percent of reported cases of cholera have occurred in Africa.
 

How Long Will the Cholera Epidemic Last?

Predicting how long a cholera epidemic will last is difficult. The cholera epidemic in Africa has lasted more than 30 years. In areas with inadequate sanitation, a cholera epidemic cannot be stopped immediately, and although far fewer cases of cholera have been reported in Latin America and Asia in recent years, there are no signs that the global cholera pandemic will end any time soon. Major improvements in sewage and water treatment systems are needed in many countries to prevent a cholera epidemic in the future.
 

Challenges of the Cholera Epidemic

There are a number of challenges related to controlling the current cholera epidemic:
 
  • Large population migrations into urban centers in developing countries are straining existing water and sanitation infrastructure, therefore increasing the risk of disease.
     
  • A cholera epidemic is a marker for poverty and lack of basic sanitation.
     
  • Natural infection and currently available vaccines offer incomplete protection of relatively short duration; no multivalent vaccines are available for O139 infections.
     
  • Multiple routes of transmission mean that successful prevention of cholera may require different specific measures in different areas.
     
  • Simple rehydration treatment saves lives, but the logistics of delivery in remote areas remain difficult during cholera epidemic periods.
     
  • Antibiotic treatment is helpful, but can be difficult because of growing antimicrobial resistance.
     
  • Natural reservoirs in warm, coastal waters make eradication (getting rid of the bacteria) very unlikely.
     
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Written by/reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD
Last reviewed by: Arthur Schoenstadt, MD