ANTHROP 2U03 Lecture : The Hot Plague
9 Jan 2012
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Document Summary
Cholera = greek term for gutter of a roof (all matter leaving the body) Comes from the latin word for heat, means bad news in arabic. Very strongly tied to poverty poor water quality and poor sanitation = cholera. Appears very suddenly and kills very violently. Disease that came from somewhere else (shame and blame) Confluence of disease pools, introduction of the disease form another place, largely tied to the global city. Affects small intestine, reservoir is the small intestine. Caused by vibrio cholerae the comma bacillus , first identified in 1883 by robert koch. Diarrheal diseases are a leading cause of death in the developing world (especially in children and infants) V. cholerae colonize small intestine, don t actually penetrate the surface. Secrete potent enterotoxin that binds to cell membranes. Entertoxin binds to cell channels in small intestine > massive fluid loss. Toxic effects last 20 -24 hours: not reversible.
