Vibrio cholerae is native to the Ganges delta, which is in India and extends into Bangladesh. There have been seven worldwide Vibrio choleraepandemics since 1817. There is an ongoing global pandemic in Asia, Africa, and Latin America that has spanned the past four decades. Since 1995, over 80 percent of reported cases of Vibrio cholerae infections have occurred in Africa.
In industrialized nations, Vibrio cholerae infections have been very rare for the last 100 years. 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 (due to contaminated shellfish).
In 2003, 111,575 cases from 45 countries were reported to the World Health Organization.
Previous
Add this article to your Favorites
Email this article
Print