1) What is Cholera?
Cholera is an infection caused by eating bacteria that is present in food or water contaminated with feces.
“Cholera is an acute enteric infection caused by the ingestion of bacterium Vibrio cholerae present in faecally contaminated water or food.”
2) How is it spread from person to person?
Cholera is spread from person to person through feces. Infected persons can be unaware of the infection and excrete the pathogens through their feces for 7 to 14 days. The excrement can infect others in their environment.
3) Why is it repeatedly affecting people in Iraq?
It is repeatedly affecting people in Iraq because they don’t have access to clean, sanitized food and water. Iraq is overcrowded with refugees which makes portable water, sanitation, hygiene, food safety practices, proper waste control and health education challenging. Without health education teaching preventative measures or treatment options the public is left clueless about how to prevent and treat an outbreak. Iraq also does not have the universal health care we have in Canada or the money to pay for treatment like in the United States. The people are dependent upon educated treatment centres and places that distribute clean water.
4) What is preventing the spread of Cholera in Canada?
Clean water, proper sanitation, and health education is preventing the spread of Cholera in Canada. Society teaches us to wash our hands after using the washroom, it’s also mandatory in the work field. Canada has certain food standards that an inspector of the health department ensures all food facilities follow. There are laws stating that employees must wear gloves when handling or preparing food. If an outbreak occurs we have universal health care which pays for intravenous fluids to be inserted into severely infected people to help them fight the pathogens. Canadian citizens also participate in health education in schools.
5) What are five things you learned about the spread of a disease?
I learned that Canada’s health education is highly beneficial for learning how to prevent pathogen contamination, clean water is the most important thing to fight a disease like cholera, fresh fruits and vegetables have the possibility of being contaminated with disease causing bacteria and viruses and that is one reason we are instructed to wash them thoroughly before eating them, unclean water is one of the easiest ways to contract a disease contaminate and in the case of cholera 75% of people infected did not display any symptoms at all.
