Cholera: Prevention and Treatment

Cholera is a bacterial infection that is common in third world countries and hasn’t been seen in the U.S. since the 1800′s before modern water treatment techniques appeared.

HOW IS IT SPREAD

Cholera is spread by contamination of the following

• Municipal/Public Water Supplies
• Ice made from contaminated water
• Food and Drinks sold on the streets
• Vegetables grown with water containing human waste
• Raw or undercooked fish and seafood caught in waters polluted by sewage

This can also arise from the mixing of clean water supplies with human waste, often occurring during natural disasters where damage is done to these systems.

WHAT DOES IT DO?

Cholera is the bacteria Vibrio cholerae, that can produce mild symptoms, but 1 in 20 people can develop SEVERE symptoms including..

• Watery diarrhea
• Vomiting
• Rapid Heart Rate
• Loss of Skin elasticity (the ability to return to position if pinched and let go)
• Dry Mucous Membranes (throat, nose, mouth, eyelids)
• Low Blood Pressure
• Extreme Thirst
• Muscle Cramps

Rapid Loss of bodily fluids can result in dehydration and shock, the number one killer; patients cannot keep down water and lose it faster than they can rehydrate, without treatment death can occur within hours.

HOW CAN I PREVENT IT

There are many ways to prevent cholera, and your situation will dictate what measures to take.

• Develop alternative water resources and stores other than public supplies

This could be finding local streams, having multiple redundant ways to filter and/or purify all your water, this can be Berkey Water Filters (which I offer a discount if you join as a member), Iodine, Bleach and Boiling. Don’t trust even natural streams as they have been contaminated in a natural disaster, or even in a collapse situation people may have begun to dump raw sewage or use streams for bathrooms. Rule of thumb, consider ALL water contaminated and in need of purification.

• Always use purification/filtering for water used in Drinking, Making Ice, Brushing Teeth, Washing face, hands, dishes, utensils, all food preparation items. Wash your food and vegetables with clean water.

Do not take any chances, the only thing you could possible consider using unclean water for is perhaps washing cloths, and even then it may be risky, I wouldn’t chance it.

Cholera is a Bacterial infection it is not a chemical so it is actually quite easy to eliminate just bring water to a rolling boil for a couple minutes (add another minute if you live above a mile in elevation).
BLEACH:
For Bleach make sure you use pure unscented Household Bleach, 8 drops (1/4 teaspoon) per gallon, double it if the water is murky (but not muddy).
To learn how to make your own bleach using Pool Cleanser, ready my Blog article on the subject.

HOW IS CHOLERA TREATED?

Cholera, severe cases can be treated in 4 ways.
1) RE-HYDRATION:
Replacement of lost fluids and electrolytes is paramount for survival of the patient. Use a simple re-hydration solution using ORS (Oral Rehydration Salts), this is a solution that is available as a powder that can be mixed with boiled or bottled (e.g. CLEAN) water. Without re-hydration approximately 50% of the people infected with the Bacteria will die, with treatment, death drops to 1%.
ORS can be bought for 1.25 each on Amazon, these below are the WHO standard packs.


2) IV FLUIDS:
Most people can be treated and saved using oral re-hydration, however SEVERE cases will need IV fluids to survive, early treatment is the key.

3) ANTIBIOTICS:
These are not necessarily required for treatment but they can help to reduce the amount of the duration of the cholera-related diarrhea. Just a single does of Doxycycline can be very effective. To get Anti-biotic’s without going to the doctor look into Fish/aquatic anti-biotic’s (use at own risk and do your research)

4) ZINC:
Research has shown that Zinc Supplements can decrease and shorten the duration of diarrhea in children with Cholera.

http://www.greatnorthernprepper.com/cholera-prevention-and-treatment/