A review of recent trends in cholera research and control. With an annex on the isolation and identification of cholera vibrios

Abstract

Since 1961 cholera El Tor has been sweeping through the Far East, and this dissemination of the disease has stimulated research not only in the countries afflicted but also in Europe and the Americas. New laboratories and workers have entered the field and many fresh ideas and concepts have emerged. The time seemed ripe, therefore, to survey the most important papers published since 1959, when the literature on cholera was thoroughly reviewed by Pollitzer, for the benefit both of those engaged in research and of those concerned with public health practice.This review covers history and incidence, causative agents (including the "classical", "El Tor" and "incomplete" forms), pathophysiology, diagnosis, treatment, mode of spreading and control measures (with particular reference to public health education and the International Sanitary Regulations). An annex, intended for laboratory use, contains selected procedures for the isolation and identification of cholera vibrios.