According to the World Health Organization, “more than 2.6 billion people - over 40% of the world's population - do not have basic sanitation, and more than one billion people still use unsafe sources of drinking water.” What happens when sanitation issues and the basic necessity of clean drinking water converge?

Prokaryotic Organisms – Bacteria

Gram-negative straight or curved rods, motile by means of polar flagella:

Undergo asexually reproduction by binary fission / 2 identical daughter cells;

require oxygen to survive: aerobic bacteria.

Produces enterotoxins released from bacteria: activates the adenylate cyclase enzyme in the intestinal cells; converting them into pumps which extract water and electrolytes from

blood and tissues and pump it into the lumen of the intestine; secretion of H20, Na+, K+, Cl-, and HCO3- into the lumen of the small

intestine; Resulting in watery stool, that in extreme cases where untreated, death

is within 72 hours. With osmotic loss of up to 10L of water per day.

Generally millions of Gram-Negative bacteria are present in animal intestine;

A very small level of endotoxin associated with these bacteria is also cleaned/detoxified by liver;

Once the level of endotoxin increases it may reach blood streams and spread to various parts of the body;

Once the spread of endotoxin starts in body, the body immune system releases inflammatory substance in the body and causes the body temperature to rise (mild fever);

If the presence of endotoxin inside the body is below the normal level which our immune system can fight back, then in such case destruction and inflammation of tissues at a very small level is the only harm the infection causes;

If the level of endotoxin is higher than the normal, then in such case the infection can be life-threatening in extreme cases (the effect/intensity of the infection depends on the amount of endotoxin present inside the body of host);

The spread of endotoxin inside the host body and inflammatory reaction by the immune system is called endotoxic shock;

In the case of the bacteria “vibrio cholera”, this process begins with the host consuming water or food that has been exposed to the bacteria;

The resulting experiences bouts of uncontrolled watery diarrhea accompanied with vomiting.

Haiti (2010): October 20, 2010: Warnings were given to travelers, tourists, volunteer workers and residents of

Haiti in anticipation of fall rains. October 22, 2010: 2 cases of cholera had been confirmed November 9, 2010: Hospitals were overflowing December 4, 2010: Estimate of 1,340 deaths resulting from cholera; anticipated as many as

270,000 people effected by the bacterial infection by January 1, 2010.

Zimbabwe (2008) June 4, 2008: Rainy season arrives in Zimbabwe and surrounding areas. Cholera warnings are

given by health advisors. August, 2008: First cholera case confirmed December, 2008: Deaths related to cholera estimated 500; 11,700 confirmed cases of bacterial

infection January, 2009: Deaths related to cholera at 1,100; 15,000 estimated effected by bacterial

infection.

http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/countries/zimbabwe.html http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/a.html http://www.dayspringministrieshaiti.org/

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QMGOtWFGSs0&feature=related

M. Basile Logan and Rita Wade(click on link as you read the credits)

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1pSyYhRYeIM&feature=related

Biologyguide.net: Biology1 Tjclarkinc.com: Bacterial Diseases Micro.magnet.fsu.edu/cells/bacteriacell.html Scientific American October 25, 2010: Cholera-outbreak-Haiti http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/countries/

zimbabwe.html http://www.mapreport.com/subtopics/d/a.html http://www.dayspringministrieshaiti.org