Epidemic prevention myth: world diseases - cholera in the 19th century

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        Xinhuanet Beijing (reporter Lin Xiaochun) myth) (epidemic cholera - "the world of the 19th century disease"

        Recently found that more than 10 cases of cholera in southern Iraq, experts fear that Washington and due to the water supply facilities have been destroyed, health systems, the infection may spread. War often make some infectious diseases, cholera is one of them. Such as the 1994 rwandan civil war made millions of refugees have food, then a cholera epidemic. According to statistics, one month after the war refugees fleeing to neighboring Rwanda Zaire goma region infected with cholera number about 50000, the average patient died one every two minutes.

        Cholera beginning of disease in TCM classics neijing, the han dynasty have also been discussed in treatise on febrile disease, the qing dynasty and monograph "cholera theory". It is caused by bacteria, transmitted by unclean food acute intestinal infectious diseases, patients with severe diarrhea, dehydration and even death, because of the fierce, transmission is fast, great influence, by the world health organization determined for must be one of the international quarantine infectious diseases.

        According to historical records, a total of 7 cholera pandemic. First began in 1817, cholera began in India, then spread to the Arab region, and then to Africa and the Mediterranean; In the 1826 pandemic, it arrived in Afghanistan and Russia, and then spread to the whole of Europe; Third pandemic, it travels, arrived in North America in 1832. Less than 20 years, cholera has become "the most frightening and the most striking in the 19th century the world disease". To 1923 hundred years, 6 times of cholera pandemic, is hard to calculate losses, only India and more than 38 million dead.

        Cholera began after 1961 seventh pandemic. This time in Indonesia, and then spread to other Asian countries and Europe; Into Africa, 1970, one hundred, no sign of cholera African from now on. The world health organization says Africa 2001 cholera patients accounted for 94% of the world; Cholera baiting Latin America in 1991, left 400000 cases and 4000 deaths a year, Peru's economic loss $770 million only.

        In the 1990 s, the number of cholera patients appear to rise. The world health organization says it is a permanent threat to the world, and said "threatened to increase". Experts believe that cholera was back after so many years and environmental degradation and health facility backwardness, poor living conditions, malnutrition and so on factors, such as cholera epidemic in Peru in 1991, mainly lies in its lack of clean drinking water.

        Existing cholera vaccine applies only to some people, and because the vaccine toxic side effects, some countries have banned the use of. Cholera is not the most terrible infectious diseases, but the world each year about 300000 cases of cholera cases, case fatality rate is only 1%. Cholera is easy to control, as long as you don't drink water, don't eat cold unclean food won't be infected.

        How in the global prevention and treatment of cholera? The world health organization recommends that countries in addition to take measures to improve water conditions, to set up good early warning system and improve the reporting system. The group said: "recent experience enough to prove that good supervision and the effect of preparing well, and honest report and the benefits of a transparent information policy."