INTERVIEW: Cholera: Many people don’t know they have been infected – Scientist, Umeh

Following the recent outbreak of cholera in Nigeria and the upsurge of its confirmed cases and fatalities in many states of the federation, a pharmacist, Umeh Camillus Chibueze, MD/CEO of Camillus Pharmaceuticals, says most people are unaware they have been infected. He adds that the government is not doing enough to stem the tide. In this interview with SOCIETY WATCH, he x-rays the dangers of the epidemic, causes, symptoms, mode of transmission and the preventive measures to curb its spread. Excerpts:

What is the cholera epidemic all about?

Cholera is an epidemic or infectious disease that causes severe watery diarrhea, which can lead to dehydration and even death if left untreated. It is caused by eating food or drinking water contaminated with a bacterium called Vibrio cholerae.

The disease is most common in places with poor sanitation, crowding, war, and famine and where there are poor latrines and no proper mode of defecation like using a pit toilet. Contaminated hands, eating contaminated vegetables, fruits and drinking from well or tap water are major spreads of cholera.

So, in other words, cholera is an epidemic that spreads very fast and the common symptoms have to do with diarrhea and vomiting and the person that suffers cholera will have what we call dehydration; that is lack of water in the body.

Is cholera currently driven by climate change?

The answer is no. As a scientist, I don’t believe that climate change has to do with cholera. Cholera has no business with climate change whatsoever. Climate change could be as a result of solar radiations which are quite different. Climate change is caused as a result of depletion of ozone layers which is caused by deforestation; that is the reduction of the number of trees that absorbed carbon monoxide and because of the absorption of carbon monoxide, they now go to the ozone layer and cause depletion.

So if you watch, there is no connection whatsoever between cholera and climate change. Though both of them are environmental hazards, cholera is caused by microorganisms while climate change is caused by an inanimate object which is carbon monoxide. Major causes of climate change is carbon monoxide as a result of deforestation. So there is no relationship between the two.

What are the root causes of cholera?

Vibrio cholerae, the bacterium that causes cholera, is usually found in food or water contaminated by faeces (excreta) from a person with the infection. However, common sources include: municipal water supplies, ice made from municipal water, foods and drinks sold by street vendors, vegetables grown with water containing human wastes and raw or undercooked fish and seafood caught in waters polluted with sewage.

When a person consumes the contaminated food or water, the bacteria release a toxin in the intestines that produces severe diarrhea.

What are the common symptoms of cholera?