Cholera is a bacterial infection caused by a spiral bacteria called Vibrio cholerae, which is typically spread through contaminated food, water, or human faeces. For us in this part of the world this is not a new kind of disease. Some nine years ago, when there was a similar outbreak in Lagos, and a few other states we had cause to look in detail at the causes of this peculiar illness.
We examined the common causes of this disease and its implications for the populace. Between then and now, different types of infections have afflicted our country, which together, brought to the fore the key importance of basic sanitation, the availability of clean potable water, decent living conditions, the treatment of sewage and adequate ventilation. However, most people learn new habits when there is an infection in town, and then they quickly forget them as soon as the infection recedes.
On this page over many years, we have dealt with cholera, typhoid, Ebola virus disease, the COVID-19 pandemic and gastroenteritis. The common thread running through all of this has to do with basic hygiene, the habit of making adequate use of soap and water to clean our hands after going to the toilet before and after eating, and after handling any kind of object that is not edible. Yet, people have quickly forgotten those lessons once the danger is no longer evident.
The causes of cholera are contaminated food, water, or ice. From a public health perspective, the main cause of this infection is contamin.
