Should Know: Symptoms of Cholera.

Most people exposed to the cholera bacterium (Vibrio cholerae) don't become ill and never know they've been infected. Yet because they shed cholera bacteria in their stool for seven to 14 days, they can still infect others through contaminated water. Most symptomatic cases of cholera cause mild or moderate diarrhea
that's often hard to distinguish from diarrhea caused by other problems.
Only about 1 in 10 infected people develops the typical signs and symptoms of cholera, usually within a few days of infection.
Symptoms of cholera infection may include:
Diarrhea. Cholera-related diarrhea comes on suddenly and may quickly cause dangerous fluid loss — as much as a quart (about 1 liter) an hour. Diarrhea due to cholera often has a pale, milky appearance that resembles water in which rice has been rinsed (rice-water stool).
Nausea and vomiting. Occurring especially in the early stages of cholera, vomiting may persist for hours at a time.
Dehydration. Dehydration can develop within hours after the onset of cholera symptoms. Depending on how many body fluids have been lost, dehydration can range from mild to severe. A loss of 10 percent or more of total body weight indicates severe dehydration.
Signs and symptoms of cholera
include irritability, lethargy, sunken eyes, a dry mouth, extreme thirst, dry and shriveled skin that's slow to bounce back when pinched into a fold, little or no urine output, low blood pressure, and an irregular heartbeat (arrhythmia).
Dehydration may lead to a rapid loss of minerals in your blood (electrolytes) that maintain the balance of fluids in your body.
This is called an electrolyte imbalance.
Electrolyte imbalance
An electrolyte imbalance can lead to serious signs and symptoms such as:
Muscle cramps. These result from the rapid loss of salts such as sodium, chloride and potassium.
Shock. This is one of the most serious complications of dehydration. It occurs when low blood volume causes a drop in blood pressure and a drop in the amount of
oxygen in your body. If untreated, severe hypovolemic shock can cause death in a matter of minutes.
Signs and symptoms of cholera in children
In general, children with cholera have the same signs and symptoms adults do, but they are particularly susceptible to low blood sugar (hypoglycemia) due to fluid loss, which may cause:
- An altered state of consciousness
- Seizures
- Coma

More posts about cholera

How one can have Cholera, its causes.

A bacterium called Vibrio cholerae causes cholera infection. However, the deadly effects of the disease are the result of a potent toxin called CTX that the bacteria produce in the small intestine. CTX binds to the intestinal
walls, where it interferes with the normal flow of sodium and chloride. This causes the body to secrete enormous amounts of water, leading to diarrhea and a rapid loss of fluids and salts (electrolytes).
Contaminated water supplies are the main source of cholera infection, although raw shellfish, uncooked fruits and vegetables, and other foods also can harbor V. cholerae.
Cholera bacteria have two distinct life cycles
— one in the environment and one in humans.
Cholera bacteria in the environment
Cholera bacteria occur naturally in coastal waters, where they attach to tiny crustaceans called copepods. The cholera bacteria travel with their hosts, spreading worldwide as the
crustaceans follow their food source — certain types of algae and plankton that grow explosively when water temperatures rise.
Algae growth is further fueled by the urea found in sewage and in agricultural runoff.
Cholera bacteria in people
When humans ingest cholera bacteria, they may not become sick themselves, but they still pass the bacteria in their stool. When human
feces contaminate food or water supplies, both can serve as ideal breeding grounds for the cholera bacteria.
Because more than a million cholera bacteria
— approximately the amount you'd find in a glass of contaminated water — are needed to cause illness, cholera usually isn't transmitted
through casual person-to-person contact.
The most common sources of cholera infection are standing water and certain types of food, including seafood, raw fruits and vegetables, and grains.
Surface or well water. Cholera bacteria can lie dormant in water for long periods, and contaminated public wells are frequent sources of large-scale cholera outbreaks.
People living in crowded conditions without adequate sanitation are especially at risk of cholera.
Seafood. Eating raw or undercooked
seafood, especially shellfish, that originates from certain locations can expose you to cholera bacteria. Most recent cases of cholera occurring in the United States have been traced to seafood from the Gulf of Mexico.
Raw fruits and vegetables. Raw, unpeeled fruits and vegetables are a frequent source of cholera infection in areas where cholera is endemic. In developing nations, uncomposted manure fertilizers or irrigation water containing raw sewage can contaminate produce in the field.
Grains. In regions where cholera is
widespread, grains such as rice and millet that are contaminated after cooking and allowed to remain at room temperature for several hours become a medium for the growth of cholera bacteria.
Source: MayoClinic

Ish!. Diseases one can get from drinking dirty water or staying near stagnant/dirty water.

While researching on this stuff now, I saw some pictures of the elucidated diseases you can get from drinking dirty water or staying near gutters and places where dirty water are. O My Gosh!. Was pretty irritated. Lol. You thought I was brave since I post health stuffs?. Hi friend, am not so brave o. I dare not download the pictures of the number 10 and 2 diseases. You search on Google and Click on images, You would certainly be irritated. If you not, comment here, you might be considered as an admin here. Lol.
Read and get orientated...
10. Amoebiasis
This disease is also known as ‘Travellers Diarrhoea’. It infects the large intestine and sometimes liver also. It can range from mild diarrhea to dysentery with blood and mucus.
It is frequently affected to people who have poor hygiene. It is caused by sewage, non-treated drinking water, flies in water supply and secondary by direct person-to-person contact or indirectly by eating or drinking
faecally contaminated food or water. To prevent the spread of amoebaisis around the home, wash hands properly with soap, use clean bathrooms and toilets and avoid sharing things like towels or face washers.
9. Cholera
Cholera is an infection in the small intestine caused by the bacteria ‘vibrio chlorae’. Its symptoms are diarrhea and vomiting. It is caused by drinking water or eating food that
has been contaminated by feces, i.e waste products of an infected person. When their untreated diarrheal discharge gets into the water system such as groundwater or drinking water, it affects the other people. Poorly cleaned vegetables irrigated by contaminated water sources is another symptom of cholera.
In places like refugee camps and villages with limited water resources and poor sanitation conditions, a single affected victim can contaminate water for the entire population.
So if water served is cleaned properly , the mortality rate can rise from 1% to 50%-60%.
8. Dysentery
Dysentry is the disorder of intestine, that results in severe diarrhea , containing blood and mucus in the feces with fever and abdominal pain. Generally , it is the mild illness causing symptoms consisting of mild stomach pains and frequent passage of stools.
The urge to defecate , the volume of feces passed and the presence of mucus , pus and blood depend on the pathogen that is causing the disease. These pathogens enter the large
intestine through oral contact, or from infected and dirty food or water. The person may have elevated body temperature, fever, nausea and vomiting. It is caused mainly by the poor hygiene and it spreads with tainted food and water contaminated with the bacteria. It can be prevented by taking measures to reduce the risk of infection by regularly washing hands, drinking clean water and maintaining good hygiene.
7. Diarrhoea
Diarrhea is a condition which involves frequent passing of loose and watery stools. It is the second cause of death among small children. It is caused by a virus that infects the gut. Water borne diarrhea usually results from the ingestion of viruses and parasites in water contaminated by human or agricultural fecal waste. It causes the loss of fluids from the body which leads to dehydration and electrolyte disturbances such as potassium
deficiency or salt imbalance. Travelling
diarrhea is caused by drinking water or eating food contaminated with fecal material. So it can be prevented by using boiled or chemically
disinfected water and not eating or drinking from unknown sources.
6. Hepatitis A
It is an infectious disease of the liver caused by hepatitis A virus(HAV) usually spread by fecal-oral route, person-to-person by ingestion of contaminated food or water or
through direct contact with infectious person.
HAV infection produces a self-limited disease which does not result in chronic infection or liver disease. In poor hygiene places, the risk of infection of virus is high. The virus can manifest itself in water and food. It causes fatigue, fever, abdominal pain, nausea, diarrhea, weight loss, jaundice and depression. So hepatitis A can be prevented by using safe water, proper disposal of sewage and good hygiene and also by taking hepatitis A vaccinations.
5. Lead poisoning
Exposure to lead causes many health
problems especially to children. The pipes in buildings are made of lead. Lead is a metal and gives no benefit to human beings. Too much lead can damage many systems of our
body including the nervous and reproductive system and the kidney. It can cause high blood pressure and anemia. Lead can damage brain, cause convulsions, coma and eventually death. People get exposed to lead through air they breath, water ,and through food/ingestion. The main source of lead is from drinking water through lead piping and lead-
combinig solders. So to prevent urself from lead poisoning water should be treated regularly and if lead pipes cannot be removed, then cold water should be flushed through in the morning before drinking.
4. Malaria
Malaria is caused by a parasite which lay their larvae in still water. It begins with the bite of an infected female “ANOPHELES” mosquito which introduces the protists through saliva in the respiratory system. It
causes symptoms which include fever and headache and in severe cases can lead to coma and death. It also leads to respiratory distress which occurs maximum in children
and leads to pneumonia and severe anaemia.
Due to bad treatment systems, garbage and sanitation facilities are not taken care of, and access to clean, treated drinking water is not
available. So all these conditions leads to the possibility of excess water pooling, which creates the environment for diseases causing
mosquitos to breed. So the ‘Anopholes’ mosquito enter the blood, causes fever,anemia, and many other complications and
eventually death. By using pesticides and mosquito nets, preventing mosquito bites, cleaning the garbage and not letting still water outside the houses or in water coolers can help prevent malaria.
3. SARS (Severe acute respiratory syndrome)
SARS is a viral respiratory disease in humans caused by SARS coronavirus. It causes flu including fever, cough, sore-throat and
gastrointestinal symptoms. The virus manifests itself in improperly treated water. It can be prevented by washing hands frequently, using alcohol based cleaning rubs for hands if soap and water are not available, clean work place environment regularly, use clean water and do not share your personal articles.
2. Polyomavirus infection
Polyomavirus are the tumor viruses in humans and animals. They often persist as infections in a host without causing disease, but produce tumors in a host of different species or a host with ineffective immune system.
Many polymavirus have been found to infect birds and mammals. It is a tumors virus in humans and animals which leads to fundamental insights into carcinogenesis, DNA replication and protein processing. It is caused
by two viruses – JC and BK virus. These viruses are widespread and manifests itself in water and 80% of the population has antibodies of Polyomavirus. These two viruses
produces a mild respiratory infection and infects kidneys and brain.
1. Polio (poliomyelitis)
Polio ia an acute viral infectious disease caused by the agent poliovirus. It is an infantile paralysis. It spreads from person-to-person from fecal-oral-route. It enters water
through the feces of an infected person. 90% of polio infections cause no symptoms at all but affected individuals show a range of symptoms if the virus enters the blood stream.
If it enters the central nervous system, it infects and destroys motor neurons which leads to muscle weakness and accute flacid paralysis. It show symptoms like headache, fever and occasional seizures and spastic paralysis. Factors like immune deficiency, malnutrition increases the risk of polio infection. Polio can be prevented by immunization with polio drops at birth, using clean water and by maintaining proper hygiene.

Try searching for each Diseases name(the ones in bold) on any search engine and see their images!.