9. Killing as many as half of those infected, cholera continues to affect millions each year with new cases periodically recurring across the world after more than a century of absence in these countries
Cholera is a serious bacterial infection of the small intestine, most commonly identified by the symptomatic inducement of chronic diarrhea and vomiting. Within mere hours of these symptoms starting, the infected patient can be rendered dangerously dehydrated and resulting in muscle cramps. Spread predominantly via unsafe water and food that has become contaminated by human feces, the disease is prevalent in areas lacking adequate sanitation and access to clean drinking water. Believed to originate from the Indian subcontinent, due in part to poor living conditions and ideal bacterial conditions, the disease had spread to Russia by the early 19th century and the rest of the world soon after.
Seven cholera pandemics have occurred in the last two hundred years, with estimates of the dead surpassing ten million. Although a vaccine was ultimately developed, it only offers protection for approximately six months, precluding the total eradication of the disease. Today, an estimated three to five million people are afflicted by cholera, resulting in roughly 100,000 deaths per year. Reflecting the potential for sudden revitalization, in the aftermath of the 2010 Haiti earthquake UN peacekeepers from Nepal unintentionally reintroduced cholera to the island for the first time in 100 years; the outbreak killed more than 10,000 Haitians, and cholera remains at large on the devastated island.
You May Interested: How John Snow Stopped Cholera in London with the Help of 500 Beer Drinkers.