The first locally transmitted case of cholera, after 1979, was identified by the health authorities in Spain. Patient a woman who drank contaminated water in Toledo.
Spanish authorities have identified the first locally transmitted case of cholera in more than four decades, regional health authorities said today, although the infected person has already recovered and no other cases have been reported so far.
A patient was treated in a private healthcare unit in Madrid and later discharged after receiving treatment, a spokesman for the Madrid health authority said, without giving treatment dates or other details.
He became infected after drinking water in a house in Toledo, 75 km south of the capital in the Castilla La Mancha area, and the property has since been closed for security reasons, according to local health officials.
What is cholera?
Cholera is an acute diarrheal infection caused by the bacterium Cholera (Vibrio cholerae) and can be fatal if left untreated. It is transmitted mainly from contaminated food and water.
According to the APE-MPE, the last major locally transmitted outbreak of cholera in Spain was in 1979, when 267 cases were reported, mainly in Barcelona and Malaga. Since then, health authorities have recorded only a few imported cases each year.
Regular outbreaks of the disease are not uncommon, especially in developing countries or war zones where there is often no cure available.
According to the World Health Organization, 1.3 to 4 million cases of cholera are reported worldwide each year.
