CHOLERA TODAY

Travel and trade

Today, no country requires proof of cholera vaccination as a condition for entry. Past experience shows that quarantine measures and embargoes on the movement of people and goods are unnecessary

History

During the 19th century, cholera spread across the world from its original reservoir in the Ganges delta in India. Six subsequent pandemics killed millions of people across all continents. The current (seventh) pandemic started in South Asia in 1961, and reached Africa in 1971 and the Americas in 1991. Cholera is now endemic in many countries.

Risk factors and disease burden

Cholera transmission is closely linked to inadequate environmental management. Typical at-risk areas include urban slums, where basic infrastructure is not available, as well as camps for internally displaced people or refugees, where minimum requirements of clean water and sanitation are not met.

Prevention and control

A multidisciplinary approach based on prevention, preparedness and response, along with an efficient surveillance system, is a key for mitigating cholera outbreaks, controlling cholera in endemic areas and reducing deaths.

Outbreak response

Once an outbreak is detected, the usual intervention strategy is to reduce deaths by ensuring prompt access to treatment, and to control the spread of the disease by providing safe water, proper sanitation and health education for improved hygiene and safe food handling practices by the community

Racheal Carson-The Silent Spring

 Rachel Carson criticizes an irresponsible chemical industry, which continues to claim that pesticides are safe,  This controversey attracted public health debate wether this is an alternative to the "scorched earth" logic that underlies accepted pest-control practices.
Silent Spring has been the subject to controversy much among critics and supporters. Today, most controversy surrounds the political consequencies of the book and subsequent political movements that stemmed from its publication . Public opinion of pesticides today is still rooted in Carson's work and the popularity of the book. Much of the scientific aspects of the book have been emphasized, but scientists are indifferent not in agreement as to whether or not the usage of these pesticies are less harmful or more harmful than emphasized in her book, and there is further debate as to whether or not these harmful effects outweigh the potential benefits of the usage of pesticides for specific purposes.