The implications of such a finding are huge, since cholera is responsible for infecting millions of people worldwide, from Southeast Asia to India to Africa to South America. Provenzano is a Ph.D. candidate studying in Dr. Klose s laboratory. Certain virulence factors regulate the bacterium s ability to grow inside the small intestine. By altering factors called porins that are located on the surface of the bug and through which the bacterium obtains nutrients, we found the bug was less resistant to bile, an acidic liver secretion found in the intestines, and that it could not readily colonize the intestine. Cholera rarely occurs in the United States, but the water-borne diarrheal disease is epidemic in most Latin American countries.
Cholera is marked by acute diarrhea that can progress to life-threatening dehydration and shock.
If left untreated, the disease is fatal in half of cases and death can occur within hours. Vomiting and leg cramps are other symptoms. Modern sewage and water treatment systems have virtually eliminated incidence of the disease in this country. Although our clean water supply prevents cholera from being transmitted from person to person, the potential is here for sporadic cases. Diners who eat cooked crab or raw oysters run a slight risk of infection, he said.