TY - JOUR AU - Morris, J. Glenn T1 - Cholera—Modern Pandemic Disease of Ancient Lineage T2 - Emerging Infectious Disease journal PY - 2011 VL - 17 IS - 11 SP - 2099 SN - 1080-6059 AB - Cholera has affected humans for at least a millennium and persists as a major cause of illness and death worldwide, with recent epidemics in Zimbabwe (2008–2009) and Haiti (2010). Clinically, evidence exists of increasing severity of disease linked with emergence of atypical Vibrio cholerae organisms that have incorporated genetic material from classical biotype strains into an El Tor biotype background. A key element in transmission may be a recently recognized hyperinfectious phase, which persists for hours after passage in diarrheal feces. We propose a model of transmission in which environmental triggers (such as temperature) lead to increases in V. cholerae in environmental reservoirs, with spillover into human populations. However, once the microorganism is introduced into a human population, transmission occurs primary by “fast” transmission from person to person (taking advantage of the hyperinfectious state), without returning to the aquatic environment. KW - KW - cholera KW - Vibrio cholerae KW - bacteria KW - hyperinfectious KW - mathematical models KW - reservoir KW - synopsis KW - pandemic KW - environmental KW - triggers KW - human KW - lineage KW - Peru KW - Bangladesh DO - 10.3201/eid1711.111109 UR - https://wwwnc.cdc.gov/eid/article/17/11/11-1109_article ER - End of Reference