Can I Give Cholera Vaccine?

Discussion Cholera is caused by more than 200 serogroups of Vibrio cholerae, a Gram-negative rod that is waterborne. Only two (serogroup O1 which causes about 99% of the cases, and O139) cause disease. There are biotypes of each of these serotypes. The only known hosts are humans. The organism colonizes the epithelial lining of the gut. Cholera toxin is produced by some species and if produced binds to specific receptors on host cells, activating a series of steps which cases massive loss of sodium, potassium, chloride, hydrogen carbonate, and fluids in vomitus and feces. A review of causes of diarrhea can be found here. More than 1 billion people are at risk for cholera in endemic countries with an estimated 2.86 million cases and ~95,000 deaths annually Cholera is endemic in sub-Saharan Africa and Asia but has areas that have become epidemic such as Haiti and Yemen in the past few years. Studies in Africa have an incidence of < 0.3/10,000 which increased to 20/10,000 during epidemics. About half of the cases and deaths are in children < 5 years of age. For travelers from non-endemic countries cholera is rare with a risk of 0.01-0.001% per month of stay in a developing country. Cholera is rare in the United States with < 25 cases/year reported with most occurring among travelers to epidemic or endemic cholera. Cholera is spread by direct fecal-oral and contaminated water or food routes thus the risk of cholera increases in areas where crowding, lack of access to c...
Source: PediatricEducation.org - Category: Pediatrics Authors: Tags: Uncategorized Source Type: news