During military operations, due to a number of reasons, including the lack of proper water supply or access to high-quality and safe water, food, personal hygiene conditions, improper compliance with sanitary standards due to the occupation of territories, etc., the issue of preventing the occurrence of cholera is relevant. During military events, evacuation of the population, the threat of the disease increases significantly. The greatest risk of cholera outbreaks exists in settlements where, due to active shelling, damage to the water supply system, there is no access to safe drinking water, in overpopulated communities and places of temporary stay of internally displaced persons, if there is a source (sources) of infection among these people and it is impossible to ensure an adequate level of sanitation and access to safe drinking water.
Recall that cholera is an acute diarrheal infection that occurs when consuming food or water contaminated with the bacterium Vibrio cholera. The main source of infection is cholera vibrios present in the feces of an infected person, transmission can occur more often when consuming contaminated water, when bathing, as well as through food and household contacts. The most common factor in transmission of infection is raw products or those that have not undergone sufficient heat treatment: seafood, fresh fruits and vegetables, as well as other products contaminated during their preparation or storage. Vibrio cholerae can remain viable in water for a long time, in food products at room temperature - 2-5 days, on the surface of fruits and vegetables under sunlight - up to 8 hours, at low temperatures and in sea water - 2 weeks or more, in the intestines of certain river and marine animals - several months. During boiling, the cholera vibrio dies within a minute, is not resistant to drying, to direct sunlight, and is extremely sensitive to the effects of conventional disinfectants.
In most cases, the infection either only causes mild diarrhea or does not have any symptoms at all. However, 5-10% percent of patients develop severe watery diarrhea and vomiting. In this case, the loss of large amounts of fluid can quickly lead to severe dehydration. At the first symptoms, you should immediately consult a doctor!
Remember! With timely treatment, a mild form of cholera ends in complete recovery. In the absence of effective therapy, the patient may develop a coma within 2-3 days, and fatal consequences are possible.
Therefore, it is important to know and follow preventive measures. You can protect yourself and your loved ones from cholera by following a few simple rules of good hygiene and safe food preparation:
- boil water – during boiling, the cholera vibrio dies within a minute;
- follow basic rules of personal hygiene, wash your hands thoroughly before handling or preparing food, and after using the toilet;
- monitor the quality of food products, do not consume them if there are doubts about their storage and origin;
- if possible, use special products (tablets) to disinfect water before boiling it;
- wash vegetables and fruits before consumption; if there are doubts about the quality of the water, do not consume fruits and vegetables without heat treatment;
- cook food thoroughly, boil and fry foods before consumption;
- avoid eating from stalls and do not buy food from random markets;
- do not swim or fish in polluted waters;
- when swimming in ponds and pools, do not allow water to enter the mouth;
- implement fly control measures.
Main Department of the State Service for Food and Consumer Protection in Kharkiv Region