Epidemics+Cholera-+kat

=Cholera in London=

media type="file" key="cholerakat.m4a" The microbe that causes cholera was identified in 1883. A severe outbreak occurred in London in 1854
 * British scientist John Snow discovered a link between cholera and contaminated water
 * [[image:John_Snow.jpg width="340" height="432"]]
 * John Snow was a surgeon and a pioneer of the science of epidemiology
 * Believed the disease was spread through a water supply
 * Many cholera victims were drawing water from the same neighborhood pump
 * In the Soho neighborhood, it had become an insanitary place of cowsheds, animal droppings, slaughterhouses, and decaying sewers
 * The water supply came from Thames River
 * Snow convinced officials to remove pump handle on Broad Street--> lead to decrease in cholera cases
 * [[image:broad_street_pump.jpg width="303" height="293"]]
 * About 10,675 people died from the disease
 * It was worst from August to September of 1854
 * 127 people died living on or around Broad Street in three days after August 31.
 * Death toll became 500 on September 10
 * Snow took particular interest in the matter
 * Interviewed families of the victims
 * Found that all the deaths had taken place in a short distance of the Broad Street pump
 * People who lived closer to the pump had more deaths in the family
 * Took samples of the water and examined it under a microscope
 * Found "white flocculent particles"
 * By September 7, Snow was convinced that these were the source of the infections

=Some Background Info on Cholera=
 * __**Cholera**__ is an acute, diarrheal illness caused by infection of the intestine with the bacterium //Vibrio cholerae//.
 * Cholera causes severe diarrhea and rapid loss of fluids
 * Leads to severe dehydration and shock
 * Without treatment death can occur within hours
 * [[image:sick.gif]]
 * Cholera is caused from contaminated water that has the cholera bacterium
 * There is an oral vaccine for Cholera
 * Cholera can be treated by replacing the body with fluids and salts thats were lost during diarrhea

Welcome to Cholera 101! We are here today to learn a little bit about the disease Cholera and its major outbreak in London in 1854.
 * __Script:__**

Cholera is an acute diarrheal illness caused by an infection of the intestine with the bacterium Vibrio cholerae. This causes severe diarrhea and rapid loss of bodily fluids, which leads to severe dehydration and shock. Without treatment, death can occur within hours! Yikes! Cholera is caused from contaminated water that has the cholera bacterium in it. This is usually from feces of animals or humans that infect your drinking water. This disease can be treated by replacing your body with fluids at a hospital due to the loss of fluids and salts during diarrhea.

Now, moving on to the dangerous outbreak in London. This was before anyone knew about the cholera bacterium, which was identified in 1883, but many people in the Soho neighborhood were getting very sick and no one knew why. John Snow, who was a surgeon at the time, took great interest in the epidemic and decided to look further into what was causing these people to get so sick and eventually die.

Many cholera victims were drawing their water from the same neighborhood pump, located on broad street in Soho. The street had become very insanitary in the last couple of years with animal droppings and other things, which led Snow to look more into the contamination of the water.Through interviews and analyzing water samples from the pump under a microscope, Snow convinced officials to remove the water pump from Broad street. Immediately the number of cases of cholera decreased. Unfortunately, about 10,675 died from the deadly disease. Thanks to Snow, no more cases occurred.

Thats all for Cholera 101 for today! Thanks for listening!

__**Sources:**__ http://www.amnh.org/exhibitions/epidemic/section_07/secseven_pg_08.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cholera http://www.ph.ucla.edu/epi/snow.html http://www.cdc.gov/nczved/dfbmd/disease_listing/cholera_gi.html